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HOW THE WAR BEGAN By W. L. COURTNEY,LL.D., and J. M. KENNEDY

THE FLEETS AT WAR By ARCHIBALD HURDTHE CAMPAIGN OF SEDAN By GEORGEHOOPER

THE CAMPAIGN ROUND LIEGE By J. M.KENNEDY

IN THE FIRING LINE By A. ST. JOHN ADCOCKGREAT BATTLES OF THE WORLD

By STEPHEN CRANEBRITISH REGIMENTS AT THE FRONTTHE RED CROSS IN WAR By Miss MARY

FRANCES BILLINGTONFORTY YEARS AFTER The Story of the Franco-

German War By H. C BAILEY With an Introduction by W. L.

COURTNEY, LL.D.

A SCRAP OF PAPER By E. J. DILLONHOW THE NATIONS WAGED WAR

By J. M. KENNEDYAIR-CRAFT IN WAR By S. ERIC BRUCEFAMOUS FIGHTS OF INDIAN NATIVEREGIMENTS By REGINALD HODDER

THE FIGHTING RETREAT TO PARISBy ROGER 1NGPEN

THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IN RUSSIANPOLAND By P. C. STANDEN

THE BATTLES OF THE RIVERS ByFOMUND DANE

FROM HELIGOLAND TO KEELINGIS ÂND By ARCHIBALD HURD

TMJB SLAV NATIONS By SRGJAN PL. TUCICSUBMARINES, MINES AND TORPEDOES

By A. S. DOMVILLE-FIFEWITH THE R.A.M.C. AT THE FRONT

By E. C. VIVIANMOTOR TRANSPORTS IN WÂR ByHORACE WYATT

HACKING THROUGH BELGIUM ByEDMUND DANE

OTHER VOLUMES IN PREPARATION

PUBLISHED FOR THE DAILY TELEGRAPHBY HODDER & STOUGHTON, WARWICK SQUARE,

LONDON, E.G.

THE SLAV NATIONS

BY

SRGJAN PL. TUCIC

English Translation by

FANNY S. COPELAND

HODDER AND STOUGHTONLONDON NEW YORK TORONTO

MCMXV '

IPV

CONTENTS.

PART /.THE NORTHERN SLAVS.

CHAPTER I.PAGE

THE SLAV RACE 11

Slav Characteristics Slav Power in the Past The DeclineThe Dawn ?

CHAPTER II.

RUSSIA 20

I. Russian Landscape and the National Character Rurikto Peter the Great German Influence The Russian

Awakening.II. Siberia White Russians Little Russians Great

Russians Cossacks The People of the Sunflower-Made in Germany The Reaction.

CHAPTER III.

RUSSIAN NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS - - 37

Russian Slavdom The Mir Stress and Famine TheDuma Russian Literature Gogol Tolstoi DostoievskiRealistic Ideals The Russian Soul.

CHAPTER IV.

POLAND AND BOHEMIA ... 50

I. The Contrast National Character of the Poles -Our

Lady of Csenstochova Dancing Peasants GalicianPoles Selfish Policy Austria a Slav State.

II. The Poles in Russia Russia's Repressive Measures TheSlav Ideal A Better Understanding The Poles in PrussiaThe Iron Heel Law of Expropriation.

Ill, Csech Characteristics Professor Masaryk Jan HussSlav Puritans The Hradfin Modern Politics.

vi CONTENTS.

PART //.THE SOUTHERN SLAVS.

CHAPTER V.

BULGARIA - 77

Country and People The Building up of the Bulgarian StateRelations with Russia German Influence Alexander of

Battenberg King Ferdinand Bulgaria's Immediate Duty.

CHAPTER VI.

SERBIA 98I. Serbian Self-reliance Characteristics of the Serb People

The power of the Folk-song Race-consciousness.

II. History of the Southern Slavs.

III. The Birth of a Nation Prince MiloS" The Great

Sower " Alexander Karagjorgjevic Michael ObreDovid

King Milan Fall of the Obrenovid Dynasty King PeterThe Restoration of Serbia's Prestige.

IV. Serbia and Austria A Campaign of Calumny Annexa-tion of Bosnia-Hercegovina The Balkan Wars SerbiaRehabilitated The Tragedy of Serajevo.

CHAPTER VII.

MONTENEGRO 129The Country of the Black Mountain Women Warriors

King, Poet and Fanner Historical Sketch of MontenegroPetar I., Petrovic -Petar II. Pro-Russian Policy A RoyalPoet Nikola I.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE SOUTHERN SLAVS OF THE DUALMONARCHY 138

I. A Homogeneous People-A Militant Past The BogumiliNational Bondage Napoleon Illyrisra Agreement with

Hungary Count Khuen-Hedervary.II. The Greatest Representative of the Southern Slavs Stross-

mayer's Generosity and courage Fall of Count Khuen-Hedervary Death of Strossmaycr.

III. False Dawn Conference of Fiume Ban Paul RauchMonster Trial in Zagreb The Friedjung Case CuvajFrano Supilo.

IV. Dalmatia, Istria, Camiola The Italian Element Bosaia-

Hercegovina Conclusion.

EPILOGUE." BURIED TREASURES" by Dimitrij Mitrinovit - 178

PREFACE.

THE task of writing a book on the subject of

the Slav nations has afforded me very great

pleasure, and I hope my work will succeed in

its object and arouse the sympathies of the

British public for my race. In preference to

giving long disquisitions, I have purposely

adopted a simple narrative tone in sketchingsome of the most interesting points in the national

life of the Slav peoples. I have only touched

upon historical events in so far as this was

necessary for the context, and owing to lack of

space I have been unable to do more than allude

to Slav art and literature. On the other hand,a good deal of valuable information on this

subject will be found in the epilogue" Buried

Treasures," which the eminent Serbo-Croat

essayist, Mr. Dimitrij Mitrinovid has kindly

placed at my disposal.

As I am at present completely cut off from mysorely-stricken country, I have been unable to

apply for permission to quote from certain books

that I have consulted, but I feel sure that myliterary colleagues, Dr. Dragutin Prohaska, Niko

2upanic and Dr. Gjuro urmin, will not object

viii PREFACE.

to my having had recourse to their works in

the interests of our race.

I am also indebted to Mr. Frano Supilo, the

leader to the Croatian people, as well as to myabove-mentioned friend, Mr. Dimitrij Mitrinovic'

of the Serbian Legation in London, for several

valuable hints.

My special thanks are due to my translator,

Mme. Fanny S. Copeland,and Miss Ella C. Seyfang,who have given me invaluable assistance in mywork.

LONDON, THE AUTHOR.

November, 1914.

PART I.

THE NORTHERN SLAVS.

THE SLAV NATIONS.

CHAPTER I.

THE SLAV RACE.

Slav Characteristics Slav Power in the Past TheDecline The Dawn ?

ALTHOUGH the Slav race does not appear as a

united state or Union, it certainly forms a familyof nations linked by ties of blood, the tradition

of centuries, similar language and customs,and especially by ties of mutual love and sym-

pathy. It is the greatest and most powerful of

the European races, yet to this day it does not

hold the pride of place which is its due and whichit once held. Not the precedence of mere

strength, which is surely sufficiently represented

by Russia, but the place due to a people of

recognized culture, who have not yet been justly

appreciated in spite of overwhelming proof of

their intellectual gifts. Slavs are still popu-

larly supposed to be a mentally undevelopedhost of semi-barbarians and troglodytes. Ofcourse the educated public of Europe has long

11

12 The Slav Nations

abandoned this attitude ; but it has done little

to spread a more just and liberal view amongthe people at large.* The German scholars

made it their business to lay stress on "Slav

barbarism" wherever possible, to obscure the

bright and glorious pages in Slav history, andto emphasize everything that can be taken as a

proof of savagery and arrested development.

Unfortunately, no one has written at such lengthabout the Slav question, or attached so much

importance to it, as the German scholars, with

the result that other European nations havederived their views from them so much so

that one might almost say that German opinionon the Slavs has become the opinion of Europe.Constant unrest in Russia, and the consequent

reprisals of the authorities afforded a welcome

pretext for misjudging the Slavs, and the or-

dinary public of Europe came to know of them

only as mediaeval inquisitors with Siberia as

their great torture-chamber. No one seemedto realize that these revolutionary movements,

* The reason for this"cultural

"ostracism of Russia is

both racial and geographical. There has never been anydesire in England to belittle the Slavs, least of all Russia.On the contrary, a long succession of traditions, as far backas the Viking Age, binds the extreme West to the extremeEast of Europe, and has now reached a great ethical andpractical expression in the Triple Entente. But betweenWestern Europe and the Slavs lies Imperial Germany, whohas acted not only as a barrier, but also as a distorting glass,

through which the western and eastern races of Europe were

compelled to look at each other. [Footnote by the translator

F.S.C.]

The Slav Race 13

no less than the insurrections in other Slav

countries, merely represented the resistance of

a virile people craving enlightenment againstautocratic barbarism ; and that it is obviouslyunfair to judge the Slavs by the deeds of their

oppressors, who in every case have followed

the German methods cultivated by their govern-ments in most Slav countries, and importedinto Russia by Peter the Great. On the other

hand, if the Slav nations are judged by the soul

of the people, and not by their rulers and state-

systems, they show a high standard of civili-

zation and a trend towards culture of a kindly,humanitarian type, which promises to be a

far better contribution to Western Europeanprogress than the much-advertised German"Kultur."

Certainly the Slavs have not yet attained to

their full stature as a race. At present theyare passing through a period of strong ferment,but the wine that has so far resulted from this

ferment gives excellent ground for the hopethat when the Slavs have solved their various

national and economic problems they will provethemselves the equals of the other cultured

nations of the world.

In the world of politics they must attain the

degree of power necessary to safeguard their

racial individuality and the freedom of the

Slav peoples. This power must stand in due

proportion to their capability for intellectual

14 The Slav Nations

progress, and should in itself be a guarantee for

the peace of the world in the future. For the

Slav is not naturally domineering, and has no

craving for power as a mere means of aggression.He belongs to a kindly race, melancholy, as shownin the national poetry in which his soul finds

expression. He has a craving to love and to be

loved, and would fain join the other Europeannations as a friend and brother. His strength will

be the strength of love. Russia has neither need

nor desire to extend her boundaries further. TheBalkan Slavs only wish to accomplish their own

destiny quietly within the borders of the Slav

Sphere, and the rest of the Slavs desire their

freedom only their freedom. And when this

is accomplished, the Slav Colossus will no longerconstitute a danger to Europe, but a safeguard.His political power will only threaten those whowould tamper with the foundations of peace from

mere lust of dominion.

In the present crisis the Slav race is by no

means seeking a return to the past. The past has

seen the Slavs masters of a great empire and a

real menace to the rest of the world. If one

were to take the political map of Europe and

indicate upon it the frontiers of the ancient

Slav Empire, the Slav race would appear like an

irresistible deluge. The huge Muscovite Empire,almost the whole of Austria-Hungary, the whole

The Slav Race 15

of the Balkans, two-thirds of the German Empire,

part of Italy, and a large part of Scandinavia

all these once formed the Slav Empire. His-

torical maps show the single triumphant word"Slavs" ("famous" or "glorious" ones) in-

scribed over all these countries throughout the

centuries. Their history and development can

be traced back to 400 B.C.

The Taurians that guarded the Golden Fleece

were Slavs, as were the men of the Baltic with

whom Phoenicians and Greeks traded for amber.

The forest lands of the North, that grey homeof magic, wisdom and valour, hang like a dark

background full of strange possibilities behind

sunny Greece and clear-headed, practical Romeand this was the Empire of the Slavs in the

past, the Gardariki and lotunheim (Giant-land)of the Norsemen. From one century to another

they played a part of increasing importance

among the peoples of Central and Eastern Europeand were feared as a strong, homogeneous race.

Their power reached its zenith towards the end

of the fifth century, before the tidal wave of the

Hun invasion swept over Europe. At that time

they held the mastery from the Alps to the

mouth of the Elbe, and from the Baltic to the

Black Sea. They were then one great peopledivided into several tribes speaking slightly

differing dialects ; but only a fraction of their

number the inhabitants of the present Dal-

matia was subject to the Emperor Nepos. The

16 The Slav Nations

invasion of the Avars, who took possession of a

large strip of the Slav possessions between the

Danube and the Dniester, made the first breach

in the unity of the great Slav family. Hence-

forth they were known as Northern, Eastern, and

Southern, Slavs, and began to form separatenationalities. In the age of Charlemagne these

nationalities had already crystallized into inde-

pendent states, whose power and prosperity are

recorded in history. The strongest of these

was eventually Poland, extending far into the

Russia of to-day. The Moravian Empire of

Svatopluk, the Empire of Serbia, the kingdomof Croatia, and the Slavicized Bulgars in the

South, together with the Grand-Dukedom of

Muscovy (and the Wendish kingdom in North

Germany), complete the family of Slav States.

It would take too long to enter into the his-

torical importance of all these states, but it is a

characteristic proof of their power that not only

European, but Asiatic, nations courted their

favour.

Some of the main trade routes of the world

led from Northern Europe through the heart of

Russia to Byzantium (the"Mikligard

"of the

Sagas) and Asia. Slav, Norwegian, Tatar andArab traded peacefully together on the banks

of the Volga, and sundry passages in the Norse

Sagas as well as the journal of an Arab trader

give us vivid glimpses of those days. Somehowthese searchlight pictures of the Slavs and their

The Slav Race 17

country, recorded with positively journalistic

freshness and love of detail, do not corroborate

the biassed accounts of German historians.

But this world-power which Russia alone has

developed steadily up to the present day began to

wane among the other Slav nations soon after

the first Crusade (1097). Already in 1204 (the

fourth Crusade) Slavonia, Croatia, Dalmatia

and Bosnia were incorporated in the German

(Holy Roman) Empire, together with Hungary,Istria, Carniola and Carinthia. Under the

Hohenstaufens, Bohemia and Moravia also be-

came vassal states, and in the fourteenth centurythe victorious Osmanlis robbed the Bulgars andSerbs of their independence. With the excep-tion of Russia, Poland alone maintained her

independence, until the first partition in 1772,followed by the second in 1793. The third andlast partition in 1795 sealed her fate, and the

Poles were parcelled out under Russian, Prussian

and Austrian rule.

The partition of Poland was the beginning of

the complete political, and to some extent even

the national, decay of the non-Russian Slavs.

Just as Russia began to spread her mighty

pinions, the Slavs under alien yoke fell deeperand deeper into an apathy of gloom, only broken

from time to time by rare flashes of patriotism,or a tempest of revolt. The book of history lay

18 The Slav Nations

open before them with its pages of gold andblack ;

but to their aching eyes the black ever

loomed larger than the gold, and they yielded to

a despondency that knew no comfort and sawno escape. And, while they were thus sunk in

apathy, their rulers brought strong pressure to

bear on them, so that they might eradicate the

stamp of their nationality, not only from their

faces, but from their souls. Germany and

Austria scented the Eastern question, anddivined that in its solution the Slavs might renew

their strength. So they determined to approachthe problem supported by a totally emasculated

and denationalized Slav following. To this end

they strove above all things to turn the Slavs

into docile citizens of a Germanic Empire ;for

from the days of Charlemagne the German has

reiterated the parrot-cry that the Slav- is bar-

barous, obstinate, dangerous and ugly, and that

his only chance of salvation lies in merging his

identity with that of the German of the Empire.It is a fact that during this period the Slavs did

nothing to help themselves. A great weariness

weighed upon the people, no less than upon the

educated classes, and they were preparing to

reconcile themselves to the fate that had alreadybefallen their brothers, the Serbs and Bulgars.But the progress of history did for the Slavs

what they failed to do for themselves. Napoleon,the personification of destruction for the whole of

Europe, brought salvation to the Western Slavs,

The Slav Race 19

for he re-awakened them to a sense of national

self-consciousness, and so prepared the way for

the long and bitter struggle they have wagedsince then against their oppressors. As soon

as these struggles commenced Russia, who hadhitherto regarded the ruin of her brothers with

equanimity, began to take an interest in their

sufferings, and to afford them strong moral

support.These struggles, however, could not bring

immediate relief. The Slavs knew full well that

the way to freedom is long and has to be won

step by step. The problem of the Near East,

which advanced one stage with the liberation of

Serbia, must first be solved in every phase anddetail to clear the way for a solution of the

purely Slav problem. Europe cannot take a vital

interest in this problem before the Balkan

problem is disposed of, and the conditions for the

liberation of the Slavs so far fulfilled, that the

difficulty can be solved in the ordinary course of

the progress of civilization.

The psychological moment seems to have

arrived, and the Slav question deserves to be

fully put forward. Surely the British public,

which has entered into the present crisis with

such splendid spirit, will not withhold its interest

from the Slav question, more especially as

England will have a strong voice in the matter

when the final settlement comes to be made.

CHAPTER II.

RUSSIA.

I. Russian Landscape and the National CharacterRurik to Peter the Great German InfluenceThe Russian Awakening.

II. Siberia White Russians Little Russians GreatRussians Cossacks The People of the Sun-flower Made in Germany The Reaction.

I.

ROUGHLY speaking, there are 172 million Slavs

in the world. The Russians alone number about

no millions, and these millions occupy a vast

country reaching from the snows of the far

North, to lands where the orange-trees bloom all

the year round. The Russian holds that his

dear"

little mother Russia"

is the most beautiful

land of all the earth. The mountain fastnesses

and precipices of the Urals, the green slopes of

the Caucasus, the Siberian wastes, the greyshores of the Baltic and the sunny shores of the

Euxine the Volga and the Don, and even the

sacred steppes to him they are all beautiful, to

him they reflect the image of his soul and his

feelings. The Western traveller will find some

difficulty in understanding this passionate love

of the Russian for his country, and will feel

20

Russia 21

tempted to draw sharp comparisons between the

degrees of beauty in the various districts. Butthe landscape of Russia is as peculiar as the

Russian people. It is as Russian as the Russian

himself. There is probably not another countryin the world where the climatic and geological

conditions have so deeply influenced the inmost

character of the people, even to their external

features. Where the landscape is beautiful andthe climate sunny, the handsome noble Russian

type prevails ; whereas the cold, inhospitabletracts produce the characteristic wide-faced,

flat-nosed type. Yet there is a strange resem-

blance between the rough type and the hand-

some type analogous to that which a careful

observer cannot fail to notice between the

different types of Russian landscape. For

though the steppe is grey, and the fields of

Caucasia are green, yet both are animated bysomething that wears the same countenance,breathes the same purely Russian atmosphere,and is suffused with the same wonderful charm.

It is the charm of perfectly balanced contrast.

The soil of Russia has a soul like the soul of her

children, for whom she cares and lives andbreathes. This soul appears everywhere the

same ;it exhales the same perfume from the

dry grass of the steppe as from the Crimean

groves of syringa.The Russian soil is fertile, inexhaustively

fertile, as if it were conscious of the millions

22 The Slav Nations

dependent upon it. Metaphorically speaking,this soil produces its gifts out of itself, and

offers them lavishly to its children. The Russian

never works more than he is obliged to he

need not wrestle with the soil, he need only not

forget it. But he tills it with love ; he does not

force the gifts of Nature, he coaxes them from

her, and where these fruits do not appear on

the surface, he seeks them hi the heart of the

earth, and goes down the coal-shafts and lead-

mines with the same serene confidence with

which he ploughs the sunlit surface. Is he not

still with his"

little mother "?

The Russian is a farmer by nature. The

great industrial developments of the last decades

have resulted automatically from the natural

wealth of the country, but the true Russian

reaps little benefit from this industrial boom.

His commercial gifts are not great, and he has

been content to leave the business exploitationof the country in the hands of foreigners, so

long as he makes his own little profit. Mills

and factories are" German monsters "

in his

eyes, and he prefers to give them a wide berth.

But latterly there has been a great agitation hi

favour of the resuscitation of all home industries.

The Russian has grasped the fact that his policyof sentiment in business will have to be modified

to suit modern times, and that the welfare of

the people must not be dependent on foreign

middle-men. The present great conflict with

Russia 23

the Germans, who have hitherto so largely

monopolised Russian industry, will doubtless domuch to further this movement towards industrial

emancipation.

The History of Russia begins practically with

Rurik (862) who is supposed to have come from

Scandinavia and laid the foundations of a

Russian state.* At the coming of Rurik the

Russians were split up into many separate com-

munities under independent chiefs. Rurik intro-

duced a new spirit of united organization, andall efforts towards establishing a Russian Empiredate from him. Of course it was inevitable

that this founding of an Empire should involve

much opposition, revolt, war, and bloodshed.

Each district was proud and jealous of its inde-

pendence, and only yielded after a hard andbitter struggle. During the period of Empire-

making Russian history abounds in such bloody

episodes. The Grand-Dukedom of Muscovy was

*History has recently cast a doubt on Rurik's Norse

origin, but tradition is quite positive on the subject. Cer-

tainly the name Rurik recalling the Norse-Scottish Roderick-

Rory is in its favour, and it is interesting that the Scan-dinavian origin of Rurik, and even the Russian origin ofScandinavians has been championed by some Scottish writers

perhaps to explain the undoubted Scottish sympathy withthe Russian peoplef . (See Piazzi Smyth's

" Three Cities in

Russia.") F.S.C.

f In connection with this, it is interesting to know thatseveral Slav historiologists assert that the Scotch are of Slavdescent. S.T.

24: The Slav Nations

the largest of the Russian petty States and in

every way the best equipped, so that the task of

organization naturally devolved upon it, togetherwith the fruits of victory. Six centuries of

ceaseless struggle against foes from without andwithin bring us from Rurik's day to the accession

of Ivan Vassilievitch III. (1462-1505), who is

regarded as the founder of Russian Tsardom.

He incorporated the still independent princi-

palities of Twer, Moshnik, and Vologda with the

Grand-Dukedom of Muscovy, defeated the power-ful Republic of Novgorod, and freed himself

completely from the Tatar yoke (1480). In

1472 he married Zoe, a daughter of Thomas

Palaeologus, the brother of the last Byzantine

Emperor. European customs were first broughtinto Russia through this princess, and the double-

headed eagle of Byzantium introduced in the

Russian coat of arms. The celebrated Uspenskijand Blagoveshchenski Cathedrals in Moskvawere built in the reign of Ivan Vassilievitch III.

He promulgated a decree pronouncing the realm

henceforth united and undivisible by law, andwas the first Russian ruler to assume the title

of"Tsar of all the Russias." Christianity, intro-

duced by St. Vladimir (980-1054), had by this

time fully blossomed forth as the national religion,

so that we can date the foundation of"Holy

Russia "of to-day in all her greatness from the

age of Ivan Vassilievitch III.

During the following ages the power of Tsardom

i

Russia 25

increased and finally reached its zenith with

Peter the Great, who may be called the first of

the modern Russian Tsars. He applied his own

acquired Western knowledge to Russia, and

enormously improved the general status of the

realm. In his reign Russia began to play her

part as a political and military power, for it washe who founded the Russian navy and mercantile

marine. He was a ruthless autocrat, and manypages of his reign are traced in blood ; yet with

him autocracy was not so much a matter of senti-

ment as of dire necessity. He loved his Russian

people passionately, but said that it was a peoplewho had to be made great by force. Confident

in the inalienable national character he sawno danger in importing foreigners wholesale to

help in the building up of Russian administration.

He surrounded himself with German advisers,

appointed Germans to responsible offices, and

freely admitted the German element into Russia

as a means of spreading"culture." In many

ways German thoroughness proved a most useful

asset in carrying out the Tsar's intentions. Onthe other hand it gave rise to a dynasty andan autocratic aristocracy of foreign stock whoiled to understand the Russian people, and

whose influence proved disastrous to civilization

and intellectual freedom in Russia. Outwardly,Russia became a world-power under Peter the

Great, but internally it fell a prey to a systemof spiritual slavery, which has been perpetuated

26 The Slav Nations

even to recent years by the successor? of Peter

and their councillors, the descendants -)f German

immigrants. Here lies the true aiuse of the

revolutionary movement of more thzn a century.

The last three Tsars of Russia the two Alex-

anders and the present Tsar have taken steps to

eliminate the great evil, and if, so far, they have

only been partially successful, the fault lies not

with them nor with the Russian people, but with

the still German mind of their advisers. Theabolition of serfdom, repeated constitutional

manifestos and the introduction of the Dumasystem are momentous steps towards a brighter

future. But the gate to this future can only be

fully opened with the conclusion of the presentwar.

II.

Although Russia has acquired millions of non-

Russian subjects chiefly through the Crimea,Bessarabia and her Asiatic possessions she has

never lost her purely Russian character. Thelaws concerning land purchase are so constituted

that the territories belonging to the heart of

Russia cannot to any great extent pass into non-

Russian hands, which accounts for the fact that

these parts of the Empire have remained essen-

tially Russian. Siberia holds an exceptional

position, and is to-day a great colonial province

Russia 27

with a mixed population. Every year the

wealth and fertility of Siberia become moreand more apparent, and instead of being bleak

and uninhabited, this country is now distinctly

populous. The horrors of Siberia as a penal

colony are becoming a thing of the past, and onlythe perpetrators of grave crimes are still con-

demned to labour in the lead-mines and languishin the Katorga (penal servitude). Convicts whoare simply exiled to Siberia are able to earn a

comfortable livelihood under tolerable conditions

apart from the loss of liberty and vexatious

police supervision. Thus it often happens that

time-expired convicts prefer to remain in Siberia,

and eventually find not only a home but pros-

perity in the new country.

Siberia, the Crimea and Bessarabia are all

three interesting as countries and as Russian

territories, but in a sketch of the Russian people

they are unimportant. The true Russian stock

falls into three great bodies, the"Bielorussi

"

(White Russians), the"Velikorussi

"(Great

Russians) and the"Malorussi

"(Little Russians).

They represent the North, the Centre and the

South of Russia. Ethnologically, economically,and intellectually the White Russians representthe lowest type. They inhabit the Northern

tracts from the borders of Poland, ancient

Lithuania, and Novgorod. The governments of

Minsk, Litav, and Smaljensk are their central

provinces. Theirs is a poverty-stricken and,

28 The Slav Nations

one might add, a slothful Russia. Agricultural

facilities are limited, the soil is not very fertile,

and the White Russian is not sufficiently in-

dustrious or persevering to improve it by rational

farming. The people are more apathetic than

elsewhere in Russia, and less inclined to adoptmodern ideas with enthusiasm. These peoplebecome nervous and excitable only when menaced

by a dearth of food ; then their attitude is

often much more dangerous than the tide of

social revolution. At least the White Russian

has kept his type fairly pure and in spite of alien

neighbours he shows little trace of racial ad-

mixture.

The Little Russians, who inhabit the entire

South of Russia, and from whose stock the famousCossacks are sprung, differ most radically from

their northern brothers. They are the excitable,

hot-blooded, dare-devil Russians. In type the

men are fine-looking and handsome almost

without exception, and the women often exceed-

ingly beautiful. Their language differs fromother Russian speech by the extreme softness of

the dialect (which is not unlike Serbo-Croatian),and their music and poetry are the finest in the

Slav race. In the past the Little Russians were

divided into many small and independent clans

who outvied each other in reckless warlike

enterprises. Of course the wonderful Cossacks

always took the lead. They still occupy their

original home on the Don and in Caucasia, and

Russia 29

furnish the elite of the Russian Army, even as theyonce were the flower of the Little Russian tribes.

Moreover, they preserved to the very last their

freedom and their privileges in Russia. To-dayone is accustomed to look upon the Cossacks as

merely a body of men especially devoted to the

Tsar, but, as a matter of fact, the Cossack peoplehave had a most chequered and interesting past.

Once they formed an independent warrior-nation,

feared and courted by their neighbours ; and so

secure in their strength did they feel, that theyeven dared to answer the Turkish Sultan's demandfor submission with a letter of taunting derision

(the well-known Cossack Ultimatum). Theyplayed a great part in the history of Russia, and

each Russian ruler in turn endeavoured to assure

himself of their support. After their final sub-

jection to Russia (1851) the Cossacks gradually

exchanged their political importance for their

present military value. Tolstoi wrote about

them as follows though his remarks really

apply to the whole of the Little Russian people :

"Many years ago the ancestors of the Cossacks,

who were'

Old Believers,' fled from Russia

and settled on the banks of the Terek (Caucasus).

They are a handsome, prosperous and war-

like Russian population, who still retain the

faith of their fathers. Dwelling among the

hechentzes, the Cossacks intermarried with themand acquired the usages, customs and mode of

living of these mountaineers. But their Russian

30 The Slav Nations

tongue and their ancient faith they preserved in

all their pristine purity. ... To this day the

kinship between certain Cossack families and the

Chechentzes is clearly recognizable and a love

of freedom and idleness, a delight in raiding and

warfare are their chief characteristics. Their

love of display in dress is an imitation of the

Circassians. The Cossack procures his admirable

weapons from his mountaineer neighbours, and

also buys or'

lifts'

his best horses from them.

All Cossacks are fond of boasting of their know-

ledge of the Tatar tongue. At the same time this

small Christian people considers itself highly

developed, and the Cossack only as a full human

being. They despise all other nationalities. . . .

Every Cossack has his own vineyard, and presseshis own wine, and his immoderate drinking is

not so much due to inclination as to sacred

custom, to neglect which would be 'regarded as

a kind of apostasy. . . . Women he looks uponas a means for promoting his prosperity. Onlythe young girls are allowed by him to enjoy anyleisure : from a married woman he demandsa life of drudgery from early youth to old age,and he is quite Oriental in expecting deference andhard work from his wife. . . . The Cossack whoconsiders it unbefitting in the presence of

strangers to exchange a kind or affectionate

word with his wife involuntarily feels her

superiority as soon as he is alone with her.

For the whole of his house and farm are

Russia 31

acquired through her and maintained by her

labour and care"

Between these extremes of Northern and

Southern Russia, the Great Russian stands out

like a beacon or an indestructible landmark. Herepresents the purest type of the Russian people,the children of

"matyushfia Moskva." What-

ever Russia has produced in the way of true

greatness in every sense of the words, has its

cradle in Great Russia, and has been nursed at

the breast of Mother Moskva. This truly Russian

people inhabits the huge central tracts of Russia,

and the governments of Moskva and Novgorodare their particular home. The Russian faith

owes its beauty, the Russian ideal its purity to

this people, and to the race they have given the

All-Slav Ideal. And they are the only Russian

people whose soul has two faces, an outer and an

inner one. The Russian sculptor Tsukoff has

symbolized them in a figure resembling a sun-

flower. It is as well to know that the Great

Russian cannot live without sunflower-seeds.

He calls them "podsolnushki." Everything is

smothered in"podsolnushki

"shells streets,

floors of rooms and railway carriages, even the

corners in the churches. Every Great Russian

munches "podsolnushki," and by temperament

he himself is a"podsolnushki." He has an outer

shell and a kernel. In Russia the sunflower is

queen of the flowers, and as the sunflower is

among the flowers so is the Great Russian among

32 The Slav Nations

the Russian peoples. He is the true"tsarkiya

Rus." The Tsar is the sun, the heart of the

realm, and the Muscovite people are the"pod-

solnushki." Each individual is only one amongmany, a particle, a seed for the propagation and

glorification of his own race. Probably, the Great

Russian has no equal in the world as regards

idyllic simplicity. Not because he munches"podsolnushki," crosses himself in tram-cars

when passing a church, goes about in big boots

in the heat of summer, and drinks vodka, wine

and beer without regard to time or season, but

because he is a true yeoman soul. He is quiteindifferent to all that does not interest him

personally. The surface of his soul is as hard

and impervious as the shell of the sunflower seed.

His face wears an imperturbable, changeless

expression. To reach the kernel of his humansoul one has to discard every formality, thrust

aside every obstacle, and bite into it as if it were

a sunflower seed. If you abuse him roundly and" have it out

"with him, he suddenly shows

himself in his true colours, the best and kindliest

of souls ; but if you handle him with kid gloves

you will never get a glimpse of his inner nature.

As an acquaintance the charm of the Great

Russian consists chiefly in his sudden transition

from sharp resistance to an unexpected exhibition

of gentle, unaffected loveableness. The Great

Russian has a strong natural talent for philosophy,

but, metaphorically speaking, his philosophy is

Russia 33

as vegetarian as his cooking has largely remained

to this day. There is a scent of dried herbs,

new-mown hay, and southern-wood about it;

it

recalls dark forests where the sunlight, piercingthe rifts between the tree-tops, shines with golden-

blue, unearthly splendour a ray of the light

Divine. His philosophy is innocent of blood

like the saints of the old ikons.

This Great Russian people is the flower of

Russia, the Sunflower, whose golden petals pointthe way for the future of the whole Russian

nation.******The problem of Russian culture has its roots

in the Russian people, and not in the educated

classes. The desire for culture has emanated

from the people themselves, and the spirit theyevinced has pointed the way for the educated

classes in the great struggle for national culture

within recent years. The educated man is the

interpreter of the popular demand for culture,

and of the intellectual wealth dwelling in the soul

and mind of the Russian people. Almost the

whole of Russian art and literature is derived from

this source, and it has never shown the world so

much the genius of the poet, painter, or the

sculptor in question, as the genius of the Russian

people that produced him;and the best that is

revealed in Russian art is the face of the Russian

soul with its manifold aspects of thinker, philoso-

)her, and purely human being. Dostoievski,

34 The Slav Nations

Tolstoi, Gogol, Gontsharoff, Tshehoff, Gorki and

Andreeff in poetry ; Repin, Vasnetsoff, Tsukoff,

Troubetzkoy and many others in the pictorial arts ;

all have learnt what they had to tell from the

soul of the people and the wisdom of this soul ;

and the Great Russian musicians have used the

voice of the people throughout for the expressionof their art. They are all of them merely inter-

preters of the rich fund of culture, the latent

culture of the Russian people. This latent

culture, in conjunction with the holy Russian

faith, has advanced towards the highest develop-ment of human dignity and nobility, towards

peace founded not upon blood, but upon love.

The abuse the Germans have heaped uponRussian barbarism is merely the outcome of

envious rage on the part of an inferior, who sees

his artificial pseudo-culture endangered by another

culture which blossoms from the depths of the

human heart.

The non-Russian Slavs stood for a long time

under the influence of German culture. Withtheir characteristic aggressiveness the Germans

represented their culture as the high-water markof civilization and inculcated it everywhere with

the same violence which at present distinguishesthe advance of their invading hordes. Evennations possessing a peerless millennial culture,

like the French and Italians, have found it difficult

to escape their influence. But a sham must

inevitably die of its own exposure. Every

Russia 35

people, every nation has its own peculiar

susceptibility, a kind of instinctive taste, which

refuses to tolerate anything that does not appealto its soul, and could act destructively upon it.

The peoples of the West have for some time past

boycotted the"Williamitic

"culture, and only

sundry isolated Slav peoples have admitted it

principally those who were practically dependenton Germany, and whose native culture was

forcibly suppressed. The result was that a few

years ago a non-Russian Slav knew his sentimental

Schiller better than his Dante, Lenau better than

his Pushkin, Kleist better than Shakespeare, andGottfried Keller better than Dostoievski. In

the Slav schools in Austria-Hungary the German

language is obligatory as the official language

(the other languages are to this day not per-mitted in the schools), German history is taughtas the standard of national greatness and civiliza-

tion and German literature and art as practically

unique and unequalled. All that bore the hall-

mark " Made in Germany" was inculcated as

ideal. Thus it was not at all strange that Germanculture has for a long time predominated amongthese Slavs. But the Slav instinct alwayshated this culture, though at first unconsciously,and sensed it as a false and treacherous enemy.Then Russia began her intellectual campaign

among the Slavs. At first it was an uphill

struggle, for the Government authorities placed

every possible obstacle in the way of this

36 The Slav Nations

propaganda. But when the Slav peoples realized

that the Russian influence could only reach themas forbidden fruit, they began greatly to desire it.

To the power of the State they opposed the

power of their will and their instincts. This

struggle is still in progress, but it has been

uniformly successful in favour of the Russian

influence. During the 'eighties the results of

this influence began to show fruit, and since

that time Slav intellectual and educational

development has safely entered the fairway of

Russian intellectualism. Art and literature have

followed the lines laid down by Russia, and

become more definitely Slavonic. The latent

mental wealth and resources of the Slav nations

have come to the surface and appear pure andunaffected and entirely free from German "

angu-

larity," while their social problems betray a

distinct kinship with the Russian social move-ment. In recent years this process of emancipa-tion and affiliation has so far developed that it

has entered the field of politics and materialized

in the Russian protectorate over all the Slavs.

This, however, required no propaganda it arose

out of itself, as will appear in the chapters dealingwith the other Slav nations.

CHAPTER III.

RUSSIAN NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Russian Slavdom The Mir Stress and Famine TheDuma Russian Literature Gogol, Tolstoi, Dostoi-evski Realistic Ideals The Russian Soul.

THE eminent Russian publicist Menschikoff, in

one of his works on Russian nationalism, writes

the following :

"In a world-wide sense only we

Russians are Slavs and unfortunately so far

no one else. The other Slav nationalities are so

dismembered, so stupidly and artificially kept

apart and hostile among themselves, that they

scarcely count either politically or otherwise.

The majority of the Outer Slav nations are still

under the German, Hungarian or Turkish yoke,and at present they are quite unable to shake

off this yoke. There are many reasons for the

decline of the Western Slavs, but the principal

one is the negative type of their character and

the consequent tendency to dissensions and

mutual jealousies. . . . Even as regards national

culture, Russia in spite of all her internal

miseries takes the lead among the Slav nations.

In every respect she has the right to say :

'

I

am Slavdom.'"

37

38 The Slav Nations

The somewhat bitter tone adopted towards

the other Slav nations in this dictum might easily

be modified by an appeal to evidence, but, for

all that, Menschikoff's remarks are correct in

essentials. The truth of his assertion as to the

world-wide importance of the Russians and the

relative unimportance of the other Slavs to-daymust be freely admitted. And that is why a

special interest attaches to the question of the

Russian people. It is too early in the day to

judge of the full significance of the Russians as

a factor in the world's development, for theyhave scarcely yet come into their own. The birth

of the Russian people has been in progress for

the last century. First the head appearedRussian literature, and then slowly, deliberately,

the giant body the Russian people, who are

gradually attaining to political and national

self-consciousness.

Till 1861 the Russian people led an embryonicexistence within the womb of Holy MotherRussia. A nobility of mixed Mongolian, German,British, French and even Negroid (Pushkin)stock ate, breathed and thought for the people.Most foreigners imagine that the Russian peoplewere

"emancipated

"in 1861. But this emanci-

pation was only partial, and more apparent than

real ; for though serfdom had been abolished,

there still remained the heavier yoke of the "Mir"

a conservative, iron-bound institution, which has

greatly hindered the development of the Russian

Russian National Characteristics 39

people by restricting the liberty of the individual.

Strictly speaking, the" Mir " was the village or

parish, but in an economic sense it was the

association of several families under one head.

The Slavophil writers, Homiakoff and the brothers

Kirieyevaki, with their followers down to Pobye-donszeff saw in the

"Mir "

a guarantee, not

only for the welfare of Russia, but for all the

world. They believed the "Mir" to be that

economic communism and moral brotherhood

which Western Social Democracy is vainly tryingto discover in other ways. They held that the" Mir " was destined to assure the future of

the Russian people and to afford it the meansof solving all the social problems of the world

in accordance with the laws of justice and of

love. Russian literature is full of poems, treatises,

and religious contemplations in praise of it.

Even the greatest Russian minds, such as Dos-

toievski himself, were smitten with this idea.

No " Western "doctrine was potent to disabuse

the Russians of their fallacy. Nature herself

had to come to the rescue, destroy the chimera

and lead Russia back to the high road of commonsense and progress.

It happened very simply. The periodic famine

arose in Russia, and the vast Empire, the"granary of the world," had no bread for

millions of her honest, hard-working children.

They could not understand how there could be

a famine in a fertile, sparsely populated country,

40 The Slav Nations

whilst the teeming populations of the Western

countries had enough to eat. The starving Rus-

sian people argued that the famine was caused

by an insufficiency of land, and that they hadbeen cozened in 1861 when the land was divided

up between the nobles and the peasants. Theresult was a growing ill-feeling against the

ruling classes, to whom the peasantry still had

to pay"redemption-dues

"either in money or

in kind. In accordance with ancient custom

the" Mir "

periodically divided the land amongits members. Obviously, in many communities

there was not enough land for each member.Result Famine. The "Mir" was self-

governing, and had the same powers over its

members as formerly the lord of the soil. It

exercised a paternal jurisdiction, punished with

blows, or with banishment to Siberia, divided

the land, collected taxes, issued travellers' passes,

and often made itself arbitrarily unpleasant.

During the 'nineties it became increasinglyevident that the

"Mir

"constituted a moral

and material danger to the people. Poor har-

vests followed by famine were the bane of the

people from 1871 till 1907 and even as latelyas 1911.

Space forbids me to enter into the agrariancrises questions of reform, experiments and

reactions, which loom so large in the pages of

modern Russian history. Suffice it to say that

all this led up to the revolution in 1905, and that


in consequence of this revolution the Governmentdecided upon a step it might equally well havetaken in 1861. In 1906 the Government decided

partially to dissolve the"Mirs," and by estab-

lishing freehold farm properties owned by in-

dividuals it created the yeoman farmer class

with full civic rights. This reform which was

only fully carried through in 1911, marks the

beginning of a new political era for the Russian

man of the people. It is still too soon to feel

the consequences of this truly great reform to

their full extent. The Russian peasant has

scarcely got used to his new position of in-

dividual freedom, and has not yet learnt to giveeffect to his political and social will. There

can be no question of a constitution so long as the" Muzhik "

has not attained to the full stature

of a citizen and agriculturist. In Russia we

speak of a"

first Duma," a"second Duma,'* a

"third Duma," whereas no one in the rest of

Europe would speak of a"

first,""second," or

"third

"Parliament, but simply of

"the Parlia-

ment." These first,""

"second," "third" andnow "

fourth" Dumas are simply so many editions

of one and the same Duma, with each edition

more rigorously pruned by the Government, till

the merest shadow is all that remains. At this

moment the entire social structure of Russia is

analogous to this Duma-system. The Russian

world of intellect is no more entitled to representthe Russian people, than the fourth Duma is to

42 The Slav Nations

represent the first. The Russian intellectuals

may speak in the name of the people, but their

word is really no better than a third-hand

account. Even when there is no attempt at

falsification, they always stand at a certain

distance from the people. Whatever the greatRussian realists have written concerning their

own people is merely intuitive conjecture from

a distance. A poet projects his own world into

the people. The psychology of the great Russian

writers of fiction is a tendency, an illusion based

not on exact, but on intuitive knowledge of the

people. Russian realism borders on the visionary,

and on mysticism. Europe has hitherto failed

to discern the actual foundations of this poetryin its relation to Russian life, and has simplyallowed herself to be fascinated by the

" keen

psychology"

of the writers. The result has been

a false impression . The facts are really different

instead of real truthfulness we find in the Russian

writer a realistic tendency, a real ethical resent-

ment ; thence the increased"keenness

"of his

psychology, the critical touch in his imagination,which gives such a striking effect of verisimilitude.

European critics have never detected the seamin the fabric of the Russian novel

; they have

accepted the masterpiece as the outcome of a

single creative inspiration. Even though Russian

realism comes nearer to life than that of anyother literature, still it is more art than life.

Proof of this is to be found in Gogol's private


correspondence. He frequently complained that

nobody would send him "copy

" from Russian

life. He begs in vain for hints, anecdotes and

descriptions ; he has to"invent

"his stories,

and is ashamed of having to"deceive

"his

reader. In his immortal comedy," The Revising

Inspector," Gogol satirizes his own "untruth-

fulness," and in Hlestakoff, the great adventurer,

who is mistaken by every one for the real revising

inspector, he ridicules himself. For the sake oi

the people Gogol consents to play the"revising

inspector !

" But Gogol's"untruthfulness

"is

simply creative genius. An eminent Tolstoi

student, Osvianiko-Kulikovsky, has rplainly

asserted that even Tolstoi was not of the soul

of the people but of the soul of the gentry.Tolstoi is a

"barin

"(landlord) and he thinks

and feels only as a barin. Turgenyeff wasblamed even during his lifetime for writingabout Russia without knowing it

;for he prac-

tically never lived in Russia.

The inmost soul of the Russian people has,

however, found an excellent representative in

Dostoievski." Do not judge the Russian people

"

pleads Dostoievski"by the atrocious deeds

of which they have often been guilty, but bythose great and holy matters to which they aspire

in their depravity. And not all the people are

depraved. There are saints among them, whoshed their light upon all, to show them the way."

Dostoievski himself was such a light and such a

44 The Slav Nations

saint. His works reflect the character of the

Russian clearly and faithfully as it is :

" In the Russian man of the people one must

discriminate between his innate beauty and the

product of barbarism. Owing to the events of

the whole history of Russia, the Russian has been

at the mercy of every depraving influence, he has

been so abused and tortured that it is a miracle

that he has preserved the human countenance,

let alone his beauty. But he has actuallyretained his beauty . . . and in all the Russian

people there is not one swindler or scoundrel

who does not know that he is mean and vile."

Dostoievski further adds :

" No ! The Russian

people must not be judged by what they are,

but by what they aspire to be. The strong and

sacred ideals, which have been their sal-

vation from the age of suffering, are deeplyrooted in the Russian soul from the very be-

ginning, and these ideals have endowed this

soul for all time with simplicity and honesty,with sincerity, and a broad, receptive goodsense, all in perfect harmony."

Concerning the part the Russian people are

destined to play in the world, Dostoievski wrote

the following :

" The Russian people is a strange phenomenonhi the history of mankind. Their character is

so different from that of the other peoples of

Europe that to this day Europeans have failed

to understand it, and misconstrue it at every turn.


All Europeans move towards the same goal.

But they differ in their fundamental interests,

which involve them in collisions and antagonisms,

whereby they are driven to go different ways.The ideal of a universal humanity is steadily

fading from among them. The Russian people

possess a notable advantage over the other

European nations, a remarkable peculiarity.

The Russians possess the synthetic faculty in

a high degree the gift of feeling at one with

the universe and a universal humanity. TheRussian has none of the European angularity, he

possesses the gift of discernment and of generosity

of soul. He can adapt himself to anything and

he can understand. He has a feeling for all

that is human, regardless of race, nationality or

fundamental ideas. He finds and readily admits

reasonableness in all that contains even a vestige

of true human instinct. By this instinct he

can trace the human element in other nation-

alities even in exceptional cases. He accepts

them at once, seeks to approximate them to his

own ideas,'

places' them in his own mind, and

often succeeds in finding a starting-point for

reconciling the conflicting ideas of two different

European nations."*

* Dostoievski, who really only knew Russia and his own

people, was of course justified in crediting the Russian nation

alone with these qualities. If he could have studied the

British in their own country, he could not have failed to dis-

cover many points of resemblance between the two nations.

S. T.

46 The Slav Nations

This characteristic is so general and so true,

that all other opinions on the character of a

great people must take second place. It finds

room for the Cossack with his nagaika and for

Tolstoi with his gospel. It embraces every

aspect of the human soul. Dostoievski himself

possessed the synthetic faculty, the wonderful

gift of universal understanding. He could makeit clear that a crime may be a holy deed, and

holiness mere prostitution, even as he succeeded

in fusing Russian Christianity with the Tatar" Karat " * in one soul. Whence came all these

paradoxes in the one man ? On one occasion

he wrote : "I am struggling with my pettycreditors as Laokoon wrestled with the serpents.

I urgently require fifteen roubles. Only fifteen.

These fifteen roubles will give me relief, and I

shall be better able to work." ,Here lies the

secret of the Russian synthesis in Dostoievski.

Mental work is restricted by hard external

circumstances. The inherent tendency to des-

pond when in trouble is one of the greatest

dangers to the Russian. He would fain lead

the contemplative life, and hesitates"to take

up arms against a sea of troubles." To combatthis he has had to lash himself into a state of

hard practical efficiency. The Russian must

grow strong against himself before he can againtake up his ideal of an aggressive inner life.

It is once more a case of Laokoon and the

* The Tatar scriptures.


serpents. For this very reason Tolstoi's teachingdid not appeal to Dostoievski. When he hadread a few sentences of this doctrine he clutched

his head and cried :

"No, not that, anything

but that !

" A few days later he was dead, andthe world will never know what was gatheringin his mind against the great heretic. ButDostoievski's works are really in themselves a

most vehement refutation of the Nazarene

doctrine it is as if he had prophetically dis-

cerned Tolstoi. Dostoievski solves the contrast

between European culture and Christianity in

accordance with both the Church and culture.

He bows before the miracle, the mystery, and

authority, and thus creates the union between

material culture and Christian culture. He ac-

cepts the world as a whole, even as the Russian

people take it.

Tolstoi denies the divinity of Christ and the

entire synthesis of Russian philosophy. Buteven Tolstoi could only have been born in Russia.

Personally he liked being accepted by the

Russian peasants as one of themselves. The

figure of the" Muzhik "

is inseparable from

Tolstoi's doctrine, because Tolstoi's doctrine is

inseparable from the Russian people. It lives

in the Great Submerged, who are as far removedfrom Western culture in fact as Tolstoi himself

is in theory. Russian law courts have to deal

every day with people who refuse to pay taxes,

to serve in the army, or to acknowledge the

48 The Slav Nations

"pravoslav

"clerical authority. The Church

calls these people"Shkoptzi,"

"Molokami," or

"Hlisti." There are about twenty million of

them. They style themselves" White doves,"

" The New Israel,""Doukhobortzi." In principle

they are"pure Christians

"like Tolstoi. Both

have the same "tone

"of soul. Dostoievski

says of Tolstoi that he was one of those who fix

their eyes on one point, and cannot see what

happens to the right or to the left of that;and

if they do wish to see it they have to turn with

their whole body, as they invariably movetheir whole soul also in one direction only. This

correctly observed obstinacy is the very oppositeto the synthetic gift and generosity of soul

mentioned before, and this peculiarity of the

Russian mind has often been called" Maxi-

malism," to denote the rigid criterion, which

loves no happy mean, but always goes to the

utter extreme.

Many Western writers, among them the British

author Bering, have asserted that the Slavs have

no strength of will. This view is erroneous andharmonizes neither with Tolstoi's tendency to

extremes, nor with Dostoievski's universal

charity. It applies only to such phenomena in

Slav life as are accessible to the Europeantourist, as, for instance, technical undertakingsand colonial enterprise ;

for in this matter the

Slav is naturally not so well qualified as the

Englishman.


The Russian soul, and consequently the

character of the Russian people, is many-sidedand paradoxical in its obstinacy and its generosity.It is the historical outcome of such extremes as

are represented by yellow positivist Mongolism,and gentle altruistic Christianity. But the soul

of the Russian people has not yet clearly found

itself, like the souls of the Western nations;

first, because the head has not yet acquiredcontrol over the body; secondly, because the

work of enlightenment and emancipation is

only being completed by the present war.

Hitherto it has laboured in its birth-throes. It

has been a Laokoon wrestling with serpents.

CHAPTER IV.

POLAND AND BOHEMIA.

I. The Contrast National Character of the PolesOur Lady of Csenstochova Dancing PeasantsGalician Poles Selfish Policy Austria a SlavState.

II. The Poles in Russia Russia's Repressive MeasuresThe Slav Ideal A Better Understanding

The Poles in Prussia The Iron Heel Law of

Expropriation.III. Csech Characteristics Professor Masaryk Jan

Huss Slav Puritans The Hradcin ModernPolitics.

I.

ROUGHLY speaking the Group of the Northern

Slavs includes twenty million Poles and eight

million Csechs. Numerically, therefore, they are

the greatest of the unliberated Slav peoples.

Bohemia and her sister-country Moravia are

under Austrian rule, while Poland has been

dismembered and partitioned between Russia,

Germany and Austria. At one time both

countries were great and flourishing, and playeda prominent part in history. In 1526 the Csechs

50

Poland and Bohemia 51

acknowledged the Hapsburgs as their ruler,* andBohemia's political decay and gradual loss of

independence date both from this point. Thefirst partition of Poland in 1772 deprived the

Republic of liberty. Her dismemberment was

finally completed and sealed by the third partitionin 1795, and henceforth the Poles were even

deprived of the possibility of co-operating as

a nation.

The Csechs and Poles have both passed througha national tragedy, but of the two the Polish

tragedy makes a stronger appeal to the imagina-

tion, because of the contrast between their

former greatness and their present position, the

high level of their culture, and the lofty principles

at stake in the Great Polish Revolution. ThePoles fell victims to the foreign yoke just as their

civilization, their culture, and their esprit were

on the fairway to rival the intellectual splendoursof France under Louis XIV. They were a

brilliant people mentally and intellectually re-

fined, but physically decadent, and quite incapableof surviving their political freedom. They yieldedto listless sentimentality and bewailed their

* It cannot be too strongly impressed on the British readerwho has not made a study of mediaeval politics on the Con-tinent, that this acknowledgment of the rule of certain royalHouses was voluntary, and not at all brought about by con-

quest. If these elected rulers chose to abuse their privileges,the nations who had chosen them reserved to themselves the

right to protest and even repudiate their authority (c/. theSwiss Rebellion against Austria [William Tell] and the Riseof the Dutch Republic). Translator's Note, F.S.C.

52 The Slav Nations

lost greatness instead of fighting to retrieve

it. You may love the Poles with your heart

but never with your reason ! In this they are

the very antithesis to the Csechs whom youcannot love except with your reason. You

may admire them for the culture they have so

laboriously won, but you cannot love them for it.

To the German and Austrian the Csech presentsa comic type. But no one looks upon the Pole

as comic ; you hate him or you love him, but

you cannot ridicule him there is something

great and tragic about him. The Russians whohate him for political reasons are fired by religious

fanaticism. They hate the Jesuitical principles

of the Pole. The Germans hate the Polish

want of management, and "Polnishe Wirtshaft

"

(" Polish management ") is a German idiom.

But no one would insult Polish idealism andthe innate nobility of the Pole. He compareswith the Csech as Don Quixote with SanchoPanza. He is a dreamer and visionary who

prostrates himself before an invisible shrine andawaits the miracle of salvation and liberation.

This life of dreams has endowed the modernPole with hyper-sensitive nerves, dogmatic one-

sidedness, and extreme passivity. Lost in the

contemplation of their royal past, the Polish peoplewait in breathless silence for the first bird-note

to herald the dawn of freedom that shall dispelthe night of tribulation.

But, while the conscience of the nation Ian-


guishes, crucified in the bitter suffering of a

Messianic ideal, the Masses the common peopleare sane and sturdy ; they live and multiply

far removed from the griefs of the Classes. Their

hard life has made them dull and unfeeling ;

caught in a world of factories, mines, and social

democracy, they are only interested in their

own immediate concerns and personal pleasures.

Anything beyond that they expect from the

mediation of"Bogarodjitza

"(Mother of

God).

Wijspianski, a fine Polish dramatist, has strik-

ingly sketched the national character in one

single scene in his play"Wesele "

(The Wedding).The people are dancing their Polonaise and

Mazurka, with gay cockades and ribands on

their shoulders. The pretty bride leads off with

her herculean bridegroom. Suddenly Yasiek

rushes in upon the dancers and cries," To arms !

rise and rebel, for Poland !

" But the couplesas if bewitched continue to dance the national

measure. Yasiek, bitterly disappointed, sees his

hopes blighted and, choked with despair, he

sinks to the ground. But the couples go on

dancing, and he is trampled to death by the feet

of those whom he came to lead to freedom.

This scene epitomises the position of affairs in

modern Poland the despair of the great lord

with his pedigree, broad acres, and capital, whohas absolutely no hold over the plain peoplebecause they have turned away from him. They

54 The Slav Nations

have lost their rights, their land and their tra-

ditions ;the only link between the two is the

Catholic ideal, the ideal of Polish Catholicism,

which is hallowed in the image of Our Lady of

Csenstochova, whose brow is encircled with the

crown of the ancient Queens of Poland.

The younger generation in Poland has realized

that this link between the Classes and Masses

must rest on a surer foundation.

Between the aristocracy and the masses has

arisen the class of the educated poor. These

people are mainly of Russian descent, but the

sons of Polish Jews form an important proportionand have acquired considerable influence, chiefly

in the journalistic world. This young Poland

saw itself confronted by a great vanished Polish

age of romanticists and poets, with pronouncedaristocratic and Catholic sentiments. The whole

intellectual struggle of the modern democratic

generation consists in an attempt to find contact

with this past. Science also is endeavouring to

reconcile the spirit of the present with the spirit of

the past, and hopes to prepare the future develop-ment of an individualistic Polish culture on this

foundation.

The contrast between German and Polish

culture is the contrast between the culture of the

masses and the culture of the individual. The

principal social feature in mediaeval Germany was

feudalism. Germany was ruled by a number of

feudal princes, Poland by a number of aristocratic


families. But this regime proved disastrous to

Poland. A state where individuals rule bymutual consent is bound to develop differently

from one where families rule without any mutual

consent. In the expansive Western monarchies

the power of the State increased, while the

aristocratic republic of Poland steadily declined.

The main reason for this difference probably lies

in the geographical position of Poland. It laytoo far from the West too far from Rome andits culture.

The province of Galicia, which fell to Austria's

share by the partition of Poland, undoubtedlyfared better than the rest of the country. It is

inhabited by 4,252,483 Poles and 3,381,570Ruthenes (including Bukovina). As geographicaland racial neighbours of the Csechs, who were

already displaying the greatest determination in

their national struggle, the great population bade

fair to become a danger to Austrian policy.

Vienna was quick to realize this, and arrangedher tactics towards the Poles accordingly. Assoon as the Russian and German Poles began to

be down-trodden, it was an easy matter to disposeof any separatist tendency among the Austrian

Poles by reminding them of the position of their

brothers. At home the Government began byfomenting the national discord between the Poles

and the Ruthenes. It neglected the latter in

56 The Slav Nations

favour of the Poles, and absolutely disregardedtheir reasonable claims. The Poles were not only

granted great national and political concessions ;

they became the Slav favourite of the Viennese

ministry. Not only were they represented bytheir own " Landmannsminister "

(" the Secretaryfor Galicia," so to say), but one other important

portfolio (usually that of Finance) was alwaysentrusted to a Pole.

The Poles were quite content with this position

and supported Austrian policy accordingly. Asthis policy is above all things anti-Slav, this

meant that the most chivalrous of all the Slav

nations became a tool in the hands of Slavdom's

chief oppressor. This was partly due to the fact

that this staunchly Catholic people is surrounded

by non-Catholic enemies by Protestant Germanson the one hand and Orthodox Russians on the

other. Moreover, they look upon Catholicism as

the one safe harbour hence their attachment to

Roman Catholic Austria. Here also lies the clue

to Polish views, their sympathies and antipathies.But there is no justification for this position.

Catholicism is not a Slav national religion, andcan never become part of the soul of a Slav

people. Strictly speaking, it is responsible for

the decline of part of the Slav race. All Catholic

Slav countries up to date have been in captivity,

whereas all such Slavs as have retained their

national orthodox religion are free. It is quitenatural that the Poles should cling to Catholicism


as an acquired religion which appeals to them,

but they should not have used it as a national

and traditional basis for their attitude towards the

rest of the Slavs. It is a mistake which has done

little good to their own national aspirations,

and incalculable harm to the Slav cause.

In many Slav circles there is a tendency to

ascribe this attitude of the Poles, not to their Mes-

sianic ideal, but to a purely individual egotism.

This view is at least partially true, were it onlybecause Polish politics are not the politics of

the nation, but of the ruling class. The Polish

aristocracy, who were unable to forget their

past glories, saw in the feudal and aristocratic

principles of the Austrian Government a possi-

bility of retaining their position in the Dual

Monarchy. They made full use of their oppor-tunities even while (in theory) they were careful

to guard Polish national interests. This aristoc-

racy had no feeling for the common Slav cause,

and whenever they had a chance of authority

(Goluchowski, Bilinski) they have proved them-

selves a positive danger to the cause. Thatthis aristocracy has cast its spell over the greater

part of the educated classes and formed political

parties as it chose is due to the inherent moral

dependence of the Pole upon his aristocracy ;

snobbery is as much a disease with him as

Roman Catholicism. Not however among the

common people are they always the heedless

dancers of Wijspianski's drama. They allow

58 The Slav Nations

everything to pass over them, and only trample

upon that which happens to lie beneath their

feet. Moreover, their inmost soul is rich in the

true Slav qualities ; but this wealth is hidden

as in a fast-locked casket, and there it will lie

until the radiant smile of the"Mother of

God "of Csenstochova shall miraculously reveal

it.

For a long time Polish politics have disturbed

the Slav balance in the Dual Monarchy. The

Austro-Hungarian monarchy is properly a Slav

State in the fullest sense of the word. Accordingto official statistics 22,821,864 out of 51,351,531souls are Slavs. The ruling races, Germansand Hungarians, number 21,259,644 between

them, and the remainder are accounted for byRoumanians, Italians and other nationalities. It

must be pointed out that Slavs living in Hungary(especially in Baczka and hi the Banat) are

much against their will simply entered in the

census as Hungarians, and that in like mannerhundreds of thousands of Slavs in Bohemia,

Carinthia, Styria and Carniola are put down as

Germans. Protests against these proceedings

pass unheeded, and Slav National Census Unions

were formed to check the Governmental statis-

tics ; according to these more than 50 per cent,

of the entire population are Slavs. This per-

centage is proportionately increased if we further

include the Slav emigrants in Australia and

America. These number about five million, and


would doubtless return to their homes if moretolerable conditions could be procured.And yet this Monarchy aspires to be anything

but a Slav State. German and Magyar rule has

sought to swamp the Slav element in every

possible way. Following Metternich's principle"divide et impera

"the Slavs were divided into

two "spheres." The Northern Slavs were handed

over to Austrian autocracy, and the Southern

Slavs to Magyar plutocracy. Thus it came to passthat 9 million Germans rule 15 million Slavs,

and 10 million Magyars, Jews, or spurious Magyarsrule 7i million Slavs.

Even if theoretically the balance of powerseems more rational in the Hungarian sphere,in the Austrian it is plainly absurdly dispro-

portionate. And here the Poles were the straw

in the balance which decided in favour of German

hegemony. If the Poles had recognized their

duty to their own race the Slav question would

long ago have been on a better footing. A just

understanding with the Ruthenes and a joint

national struggle with the Csechs would certainly

have broken German supremacy, or forced

it to accord more tolerable conditions to all

the Slavs. But the Galician Poles have never

done anything for the Slav cause in the Monarchy,but rather sought to curry favour with the

Government in Vienna, and, by repudiatingtheir kinship, to obtain concessions for their

own negative national ideals, and for their

60 The Slav Nations

intellectual and economic development. Austria

had no objection to this platonic nationalism so

long as the Poles by their pro-German policy

supported her in oppressing the other Slavs.

The Csechs and Ruthenes have been specially

handicapped in their national struggle by the

attitude of the Poles. And the result was

an implacable enmity between the Poles and the

Ruthenes, which was, if anything, encouraged bythe Government. In this struggle the Ruthenes

undoubtedly fared the worse. They are in a

national minority in Galicia, and unmercifully

oppressed by the Poles, who hate them all the

more for being the descendants of the hated Rus-

sians (Little Russians) and because they refused

to conceal their sympathy with Russia. TheRuthenes fought hard for the right to speaktheir own tongue and have their own school

system. But the Poles were ruthlessly opposedto these demands, which were in consequence also

denied by the Government. The struggle finally

degenerated into wholesale denunciations of the

Ruthenes by the Poles, who accused their enemies

of high treason and conspiracy with Russia.

It must, however, be admitted that even amongthe Poles there were many who deeply deploredthis fratricidal struggle, and did their utmost to

induce the Northern Slavs of the Monarchy to

combine in the common cause. Time and

again the Csech patriots urged the desirability

of a union, and, as similar appeals came from


other Slav countries also, the realization of a

true Pan-Slav and democratic ideal often seemedimminent. The spectre of Pan-Germanism, wait-

ing like some ravenous monster to devour the

Slav nations limb by limb, appeared even to

the Poles, but unscrupulous politicians, bureau-

cratic upstarts, and slippery diplomats from

Vienna conjured up the bogey of Russification

to alarm them, and all patriotic efforts were in

vain.

Still it is psychologically interesting that a

Slav race through fear of Russification should

have thrown itself into the arms of Germanism.

II.

The favoured position of the Poles in Austria

contrasts sharply with that of their brothers in

Russia and Germany. They were oppressed in

every way ; Russian official policy towards the

Poles bears all the stamp of autocratic tyranny.Their political rights are restricted to a minimum,and as regards civil rights they are nearly as

badly off as the Russian Jews. Still it is char-

acteristic that the reason for this oppression lay,

not in the national, but in the religious element.

Roman Catholicism, which was an advantage

62 The Slav Nations

to the Austrian, proved a misfortune to the

Russian Poles. For the Russian looks uponCatholicism as the very antithesis to his con-

ception of the Slav ideal. Pravo-Slav Russia,

with her ancient, wondrously pure Slavo-religious

traditions, and all the warmth of her faith, could

not take kindly to the haughty, frigidly cold

Catholic Poles. The great political power of

the Holy Synod, the supreme (unfortunately

too clerical) representative body of this faith,

exercised an influence adverse to the Polish

people, and the Russian Government, which only

too often has been the mere executive of the

will of the Holy Synod, established an autocratic

regime with far-reaching national and personal

restrictions. The first result of this policy was

unmitigated hatred on the part of the Poles,

and a craving for vengeance and freedom. The

Russian Poles intrigued with their Austrian

brothers, and envied them their favoured position.

But the only support the Austrian Poles vouch-

safed their brothers was that they applied the

Russian methods of oppression to the Ruthenes.

Whoever knows anything of Russia's repressive

measures, will realize^ that the Poles were in a

hard case. Owing to the passive character

of the Poles their struggles were never suffi-

ciently organized to assume the proportions of

a well organized revolution. But oppression has

strengthened their national self-reliance, their

ideals have burned more brightly, and a longing


for freedom has entirely dominated them. Still,

even now, they are far more inclined to wait

for the miracle than to bestir themselves on

their own behalf ; and if in recent years their

position has somewhat improved, it is not so

much due to their own efforts as to the wave of

modern thought among the Russians them-

selves.

The Russian Governmental policy made nodistinction between the Poles and her Russian

subjects who were thirsting for social regenera-tion. So the Russians discovered for themselves

that they had to seek the friendship and collab-

oration of the Poles. The wide horizon of the

modern Russian movement will not permit the

exclusion of a single capable member of the

Tsar's great realm from the benefits of the future.

Not only the Russian people, but the whole

of Russia had to be won over to the cause of the

great ideal. The regeneration of Russia was to

herald the regeneration of the whole of the Slav

race, and the Poles as Slavs had a right to help in

this work. The Russians have always said that

they are very fond of the Poles, but that theyare not sufficiently Slav they ought to be

Slavicized. The Russian Government sought to

accomplish this by violence, whereas the Russian

people, represented by the Russian revolutionaries,

chose the better path of mutual understandingand respect. Of course, the official policy of the

Holy Synod is still in force, and although the

64 The Slav Nations

constitutional manifesto and the Duma have

brought about certain changes, these are at

present quite unimportant. The Poles, however,are winning an increasing number of friends andadvocates among the Russians, who are pleadingfor equal rights and a constitution for Poland.

Moreover, the times have changed, and whenRussia was confronted by the present great

European crisis the Poles displayed a marvellous

loyalty, which has, perhaps, unintentionally

brought them nearer the realization of their

dreams than they have ever been before. TheManifesto of the Grand Duke Nikolai Niko-

laievitch is the greatest event in Polish historysince the partition.

The hardest lost of all has befallen those Poles

who have been most loyal to their race. I

mean those who came under Prussian rule.

For whereas Polish Slavdom is tolerated in

Austria, and actually encouraged in Russia, in

Prussia it is remorselessly ground down under

the iron heel of Germanism. Germanization is

carried out by Prussian rule, aggressively, in a

strictly military sense. It is not a question of

political tactics no opinion at home or abroad

is considered ; there is nothing but frank coercion.

Germany's ambitions are only too well known

they have been advertised loudly enough, and

they have been expounded again quite recentlyin General von Bernhardi's notorious book,"Germany and the Next War "

a book written


with all the brusque insolence of which only a

German is capable. If Germany's future pro-

gramme includes the Germanizing of the whole

of Europe, it is surely superfluous to relate in

detail how she strove to Germanize a peopleunder her own rule it is one of the blackest

chapters in the histories of oppression.

By the constitution of Germany the Prussian

Poles cannot forfeit their rights as citizens of

the realm. This circumstance afforded them a

chance of laying their grievances before the

legislative assemblies. But in spite of their

gallant courage, the struggle brought them no

particular advantage except the moral satis-

faction of knowing that their pleading could

reach the ear of Europe. But whenever their

voice grew too loud, the mailed fist fell on their

lips and struck them dumb. When the German

Reichstag passed the Polish Expropriation Law(1886)* all Europe was scandalized ; but from

the point of view of Germanization it was highlysuccessful. Germany disregarded foreign opinionand the law was put in force.

It is to be hoped that the conclusion of the

present European war will also put an end to

the sufferings of these martyrs, and that the

whole Polish nation will be granted an oppor-

tunity of applying its many admirable qualities* The Expropriation Law provides facilities for German

colonists in Polish territory whereby Polish land and privateproperty may be summarily expropriated for the benefit of

German colonists. S. T.

66 The Slav Nations

for its own welfare and for the union of the Slav

race.

III.

The Csechs have always been a strong, tena-

cious, energetic people, and no sooner did they

begin to feel the iron fist of their oppressors than

they opened a determined campaign against themand pitted their strength against their tyrants.

They have won their present civilization inch

by inch from their oppressors.

The eminent Csech political economist, Pro-

fessor Masaryk, admirably forecasts the future

of his people. He says" The humanistic ideal,

the ideal of regeneration, bears a deep national

and historical significance for us Csechs. Afull and sincere grasp of the human ideal will

bridge over the spiritual and ethical dreams of

centuries, and enable us to advance with the

vanguard of human progress. The Csech humani-

tarian ideal is no romantic fallacy. Without

work and effort the humanitarian ideal is but

dead ;it demands that we shall everywhere

and systematically oppose ourselves to all that

is bad, to all social wwhumanity both at homeand abroad with all its clerical, political and

national organs. The humanitarian ideal is


not sentimentality it means work, work, and

yet again work !

"

Now all this is by no means a characteristic of

the Csech people, but only a forecast of what

they shall be. Political tactics must always

correspond to the principles of decency and

humanity. Masaryk further says" Our fame,

our wars, and our intervention in the past have

borne a religious, not a national stamp. Ournational ideal is of more recent birth it only

belongs to the last, and more especially to the

present century. The history of Bohemia mustnot be judged from this standpoint."

Perhaps this programme will prove too his-

torical and too unpractical for the present day.The small commercial and industrial Csech

nation is too far removed from the age of JanHuss, and the Csech reformation has lost its

significance for them. But deep down in the

soul of the Csech people there still dwells a sparkof the Hussite spirit. Of course, the battle-cryis nationalist, the phrasing that of the twentieth

century, but the underlying spirit differs in no

way from the righteous indignation of Huss, whenhe preached against high-handed oppression and

violence. The physical inferior is never anxious

to see his affairs settled by physical force. For

this reason it is not a matter of indifference to

the Csechs, whether they fight for a higher prin-

ciple or merely for material advantage. At

present they are principally fighting for their

68 The Slav Nations

language, for the right to speak their own

tongue they are fighting against Germanization.

Their strongest weapon in this fight is their

striving for economic prosperity a physical

power through which they may hope to obtain

a spiritual victory.

The principal trait in the Csech character

is initiative. The very name points to this,

for"Csech

"is derived from the old-Slav

word"Chenti," meaning

"to will

"or "to

begin."

History finds the Csechs in the vanguard of all

the Slav tribes in their wanderings westward.

Their legendary leader was Csech, one of three

brothers, and his tribe penetrated the farthest.

In the Middle Ages the Csechs were the first

to challenge the power of Rome, and to this daythey send numbers of enterprising emigrants to

all parts of the world. But the Csechs have

one great fault they are fickle. Their enthusi-

asm flashes up quickly and then as quickly dies

down. This is the reason of the failure of the

Hussite Reformation. The Germans finished whatthe Csechs began Luther was the successor of

Huss and completed his work.

The Csechs are not by nature a commercial

and industrial people. Their business capacityis born of necessity it is a weapon, not a meansof gain. It is kept going by an unwearied

agitation on the part of the national leaders, andif the Csech national ideal should suffer ship-


wreck, then Csech finance, ambition, and industrywill likewise perish.

Sundry Slavophil thinkers would exclude the

Csechs from the group of Slav peoples, just because

of their initiative and business capacity. TheRussian ethnologist Danilevski calls the Csech

people a monstrosity, a German people with a

Slav tongue. But these men have overlooked the

fact that the foundation of modern Csech pros-

perity was laid by the religion of the Csech

Brethren. During the Catholic reaction the

Csech Protestants were driven from their posses-sions and treated as aliens in their own country.

Being thus compelled to evolve a new means of

gaining a livelihood, they turned to industry.Trade and the towns were closed to them, andthe Csech Brethren had to seek refuge in the

Bohemian and Moravian hills, and the Orlic

mountains. They became weavers, wood-carvers

and miners, and laid the foundation of the greatmodern Bohemian textile, glass and earthenware

industries. Religious considerations and nothingelse have made the Csechs into a mercantile

nation. England's wealth also springs from a

religious movement the rise of Puritanism.

Thrift and industry led to the accumulation of

capital. Only a religious man understands

work and thrift, and he alone knows how to

utilise capital as a moral lever. For this

reason it would be wrong to adopt the views

of the Russian ethnologist. The Csech people

70 The Slav Nations

as they are have a right to their future and to

freedom.******In the centre of Prague, on the summit of the

Hradcin, stands the old Csech Royal Castle, a

splendid monument of past greatness. Proud

and lofty, visible from afar, it speaks to the Csech

people of the days when it sheltered not the

foreign invader, but flesh of their flesh, Csech

kings and princes of their own blood. And even

as it is a monument of the past, it is also a beacon

for the present and the future. When the set-

ting sun sheds his crimson glory upon Castle

and Hradc'in, it seems as though the very stones

were aglow with the reflection of all the Csech

blood that has been shed in the defence of right

and liberty. But the royal splendour vanishes

with the sun, and the shadow of night descends

on Castle and height like a symbol of the present

age of gloom. Day by day, with burning eyes,

the Csech reads the wordless message. Yet he

does not give way to dreams, or sink into deep

melancholy, nor does he wait for a miracle. Heclenches his fist and smiles the grim smile of the

tireless warrior. His fickleness at the time of

the Reformation weighs like a sin on his conscience,

but its ideals have set their mark upon himand quickened the seed of political reformation in

his soul. In this matter the Csechs take the

lead among all the Slavs in Austria-Hungary.I have already mentioned that in certain


Slav circles the Csechs are looked upon as Ger-

mans with a Slav tongue. But, if their indus-

trial and mercantile prosperity and certain

individual characteristics lend some colour to

this view, it is quite refuted by the Csech activityin the Slav national and political cause. In their

sturdy and progressive struggle against German-ization the Csechs have set the other Austrian

Slavs a tactical and practical example as to

how the struggle should be fought tactically on

constitutional lines, and, practically, with indomit-

able courage and perseverance.In spite of their long subjection to an absolute

autocracy, the Csechs developed into so stronga political factor, that even Vienna began to

fear the weight of their hand. They achieved

this not only from a sense of self-preservation or

separatist selfishness like the Poles, but the Slav

ideal runs like a gold thread through all theyhave done

;it is their motto, task and goal.

They were beset from three sides, by the Austrian

Germans in all their power, by Polish opposition,and by Magyar agitations and hostile influences

in Vienna. The Southern Slav deputies in the

Reichstag were their only helpers in the unequal

struggle. But they never relaxed their energyand they never yielded a position they had won.

The national struggle in Bohemia took on its

present form in the first half of the nineteenth

century, and it first centred round"cultural

"

interests as in other Slav countries. The love

72 The Slav Nations

of the people for their own language had to be

established and even rekindled to a pitch of

fiery enthusiasm, and national education hadalso to be fostered by the foundation of Csech

national schools. The State was by no meansanxious to enlighten the people, and the numberof schools maintained in the country was quite

inadequate. The fiscal schools were all Germanand served to spread the German propaganda.But the Csech educated classes founded schools

at their own expense, as well as the"Matica

Skolska"

(School Union), which undertook the

organization of these schools. This was an

effective counter-stroke to Germanization as well

as a good foundation for further success. Palacky,Kollar and Havlic'ek were leaders of the National

movement of the time.

Palacky was the source from 'whom the others

drew their inspiration. He was a great thinker,

a brilliant author, and a cautious, liberal-minded

politician who may be considered the founder

of modern Csech national life. And throughhim radiated the light that pointed the waywhich these people must take. Kollar, the poetand publicist, and Havlic'ek, as politician and

political economist, shared the Csech leadershipwith Palacky, and paved the way for a greatnational intellectual movement which kept pacewith the national political movement. Theyfounded a strong nationalist party in Bohemia

(The Old Csechs) in opposition to the Viennese


Government. With their majority in the Land-

tag, and their appearance in the Viennese Parlia-

ment, the Csech people became a factor with

whom the Government had to reckon for goodor for evil a people who refused to be ousted.

Bohemia, which official Austria loves to consider

a German country, had to be divided into"spheres." The State had to pay for the

upkeep of Csech schools and the administration

became bi-lingual ! Of course, in accordance

with the usual Government policy, many Csech

localities were included in German spheres and

promptly became bones of contention. The"Matica Skolska

"founded more schools in these

spneres to prevent the Germanization of Csech

children, whilst the German schools pursued their

system of an unofficial propaganda with the tacit

support of the Government. This state of affairs

led to constant disturbances, which frequently

degenerated into riot and bloodshed. With the

rise of the"Young Csechs

"the struggle assumed

a more drastic and determined character, for

this party aimed at nothing less than a purelyCsech government for Bohemia, and a pro-

portionate share in the management of Imperialaffairs. They repeatedly succeeded in wreckingthe Austrian Government, and under Prince

Hohenlohe they were so strongly representedin the Cabinet that they succeeded in makingtheir power felt. The "

Young Csechs"

have

greatly helped the national cause in Bohemia,c*

74 The Slav Nations

and also furthered the Slav cause by their

enthusiastic championship of the All-Slav Ideal.

One of their leaders, Dr. Kramarz, who was

very friendly with Russia, has been speciallyactive in this cause. Though the

' '

Young Csechs''

are still the leading party, recent years have seen the

rise of parties even more radical in their demands.

The Social-Nationals and the Csech Radicals desire

to see Bohemia an absolutely autonomous State,

whereas the followers of Professor Masarykaim at the regeneration of the Csech race on a

different basis (see opening of this article).

Events have moved rapidly in Bohemia since

the last Balkan war, which made a profound

impression on all the Austrian Slavs. Owingto the uncompromising attitude taken up bythe various parties, the Government dissolved

the Bohemian Landtag, suspended the constitu-

tion and placed the administration in the handsof a Commission appointed by the Governmentand responsible to none. The Csechs retorted bya violent obstruction in the Viennese Parliament

and so paralyzed the House, that it had to be

prorogued indefinitely. The Csechs demandedthe immediate convocation of the Landtag." No Landtag, no Austrian Parliament," wastheir watchword, and they stood firm. Whenthe crisis with Serbia and the outbreak of the war

occurred, the Parliament was unable to adopt anyattitude towards these events, and the onlyconstitutional body in the Monarchy able to deal

with them was the Hungarian Parliament.

PART II.

YOUGOSLAVIA.

(THE SOUTHERN SLAVS.

CHAPTER V.

BULGARIA.

Country and People The building up of the BulgarianState Relations with Russia German Influence

Alexander of Battenberg King Ferdinand

Bulgaria's Immediate Duty.

ALTHOUGH it is asserted on historical groundsthat the Bulgarians are a mixed race, and merely"Slavicized

"by the influence of neighbouring

Slav races, they certainly ought to be included

in the great Slav family. In many ways theyhave always held aloof from the Slav Ideal, and

emphatically preferred to stand alone, but,

nevertheless, they have done great service to the

Slav cause in the past, and often fought for it

with true enthusiasm. In the early days of

Christianity the Bulgarians also did much for

Slav culture through the Bogumili (a sect of

reformers which will be dealt with in the Chapteron the Southern Slavs) who spread religious

enlightenment, and through the old Bulgarian

tongue laid the foundation of the other Slav

languages. The Bulgarians, who were once

masters of a great Empire, and enjoyed world-

wide importance under Simeon the Great, had

77

78 The Slav Nations

to share the age-long tragedy of all the Eastern

Slavs, and it speaks volumes for their national

character that they emerged from Turkish

bondage as a strong, self-reliant people. Who-ever knows the Bulgarians well, cannot fail to

respect them, even if they do not inspire greataffection. I believe as a race they are not affec-

tionate they prefer to command respect. The

gentle, dreamy, love-craving element in the

character of the other Slavs is quite absent in

them, and even their fire and enthusiasm is not

a matter of sentiment, but a practical necessityalmost a matter of mathematical calculation.

Industrious and thrifty as no other Slav nation,

cold-blooded and calculating, they have justly

been called the"Slav Japanese." Their type

is very interesting and differs considerably from

that of the other Slavs. Almost without excep-tion the men are handsome and strongly built,

whereas the appearance of the women is spoilt

by their wide cheek-bones and thick-set build.

Like most of the Slav peoples they are mainlyfarmers and cattle-breeders, and as the countryis fertile, they make quite a good income out of

their exports of grain, field-produce and cattle.

Although Bulgarian intellectual life springsfrom the people, and the Bulgarians are essen-

tially a democratic nation, it is necessary to

distinguish between the educated classes and the

common people. The Bulgarian peasant is an

exceedingly good fellow; physically very active,

Bulgaria 79

mentally rather stolid, he pursues his calling in

a calm deliberate way, and is not easily ruffled.

His food is most simple ;he takes practically no

alcohol and, owing to his temperate mode of life,

lives to a very great age. The entire populationnumbers about four millions and shows a greater

percentage of centenarians than any other nation.

The Bulgarians are very fond of music and

dancing, but they have no music or poetry of

their own, and what they do possess has been

borrowed from the Turks or other Orientals.

The traveller may often come upon the genuineNautch dance in a Bulgarian village, and will hear

songs sung to purely Turkish melodies. If the

Bulgarians have any advantage over the other

Slavs, it is in the beauty of their unadulterated

Orthodox faith. The people are narrowly

religious, and up to now their religion representsthe zenith of their culture. In this respect theyresemble the Russians and all the Slavs whohave retained the Slavo-Orthodox faith. It is

superfluous to enlarge on the fighting qualitiesof the Bulgarians Kirkilisse, Lule Burgas, and

Adrianople have given ample proof of these.

The educated classes are distinct from the

people in two ways: they are free-thinkers and

quarrelsome. Religion is cultivated among themas a fashion, and the churches have become mere

rendezvous, as in Paris, Berlin and Vienna. But,in spite of all this, one must admit that the

educated classes of Bulgaria are excellent social

80 The Slav Nations

organizers, though politically and intellectually

they are not particularly brilliant. The amountachieved in social matters by these men in the

short time that has elapsed since the emancipationis marvellous. Bulgaria in this respect has

become a truly modern state. This bright side

is, however, eclipsed by the countless blunders

they have committed in other respects. Theworst of these is their headstrong blindness in

the political administration. Bulgarian politics

have degenerated into a devastating party-system,and are largely responsible for the tragical hap-

penings of recent years, in which the whole

country, and more especially the innocent massof the people have been involved. The chief

characteristic of the educated Bulgarian is his

distrust of everyone ;he does not confine this

distrust to strange'rs, but extends it even to his

King and his own party leader.

Hitherto intellectual Bulgaria has created but

little, and that little is quite out of proportionto the achievements of some other much smaller

Slav nations. Bulgarian art and literature are

merely poor reproductions of foreign originals

and by no means express the strength and

vitality of the people. Of all their poets Ivan

Vasoff, Hristoff, and Aleko Konstantinoff alone

have understood anything of the soul of the people,and only their work will live. In art we seek in

vain for anything purely Bulgarian. But there

is one thing of the greatest value that the educated

Bulgaria 81

Bulgarians have done for their nation, and for this

they deserve a true crown of laurels. I am refer-

ring to the organization of the Macedonian bands

during the last half-century. Their perseveranceand heroism call for the greatest admiration.

The country owned by the Bulgarians is one

of the most beautiful inhabited by Slavs. OnlyDalmatia and Bosnia can compare with it, andwhoever has once been there will never forgetit. It is the land of the great Balkans in all

their wild beauty the land of the Kazanlik

Valley with its vast glorious rose-fields ; the

Vratza Gorge with its romantic cliffs, dark

primeval forests, and hills covered with lilac ; the

Black Sea, and the beautiful shores of Varnaand Burgas, and above all tower the snow-

capped summits of the Vitosha. Everywhere,and in everything, dwells a throbbing life, full of

variety and contrast, beautiful as the men of

Bulgaria and rugged as their women.

Bulgaria was freed from the Turkish yoke in

1878. The work of emancipation was carried

out by Russia with the help of Bulgarian bands

and many volunteers from all the Slav countries.

By the peace of San Stefano Bulgaria wasde jure declared mistress of the entire territories

from the Black Sea to Silistria, and along the

Danube as far as Vidin in the north, from Vidin

along the Morava via Ochrida as far as Yanina

82 The Slav Nations

in the west, from Yanina via Salonika to Kavalain the south, and in a straight line from Kavalato Varna in the east. De facto she was only

given independent jurisdiction over such terri-

tories as she possessed up to the first Balkanwar. The complete liberation of Bulgaria was

by no means achieved by the emancipation, andshe continued to remain under Turkish suze-

rainty.

The first task after the emancipation was to

reconstruct the country on the lines of a modern

European state, and to infuse new life into it

after so many centuries of Turkish misrule.

Education was represented solely by the priests

and the schoolmasters, who had laboured for

the enlightenment of the people even before the

emancipation. Of course, there were a few

Bulgarians who possessed a European education,

and had graduated at European universities,

and upon these devolved the task of solvingthe problems of the newly-created state. There

were however so few of them that, at the begin-

ning, many men of culture were imported from

other Slav countries, chiefly from Russia, Croatia

and Bohemia. The military administration wasentrusted to Russia, who established garrisonsof her own in Bulgaria and undertook to create

the Bulgarian army. Considering the transi-

tionary stage of the country at the time, it

was inevitable that the Russian military authori-

ties should obtain considerable influence over the

Bulgaria 83

ivil administration also, and that Bulgarianaffairs fell under Russian influence from the

very beginning.Prince Alexander of Battenberg, the first

Bulgarian ruler, came to the throne under

similar conditions as King Carol to the throne

of Roumania. He was confronted with a super-human task, and Bulgarian history can never

deny the great service he rendered the country.He came with a definite mission and set to workwith the greatest possible zeal. He devoted

his attention chiefly to the education of the

people and to the army, and he found his most

energetic ally in the people themselves. The

prompt efficiency of the school system wouldhave done credit to many a more modern state.

The Bulgarians are intelligent, persevering, andfond of learning, and popular education madeimmense strides. At the present day the per-

centage of adult Bulgarians who cannot read

and write is exceedingly small compared to most

other countries it is 2j per cent, of the adult

population. The national system of compulsoryeducation affected the very poorest peasants as

well as the better classes. Before the foundation

of secondary schools in the country large num-bers of young men were sent to foreign secondaryschools and universities, and every year yieldedits quota of well-equipped youths capable of

providing the motive power for the machineryof the State. Similar purposeful energy

84 The Slav Nations

characterized the military organization, with the

intention | of forming an independent, purely

Bulgarian army. For, in spite of his great

admiration for Russia and the Tsar Liberator,

Prince Alexander felt that dependence uponRussia more especially a military dependencewould render his country a vassal de facto of

Russia, no less than it was de jure already the

vassal of Turkey. He therefore strove to render

the Russian military administration superfluousin Bulgaria by building up an efficient home armyAs soon as this was accomplished he sent a

letter of thanks to the Tsar, made a public

manifesto, gave a big dinner to the Russian

generals, and gratefully dismissed the Russian

co-operation. Then the Russian generals had to

leave Bulgaria.* No one can deny that Prince

Alexander showed himself manly and self-reliant

in taking this decision, which was prompted bya very proper ambition. But he gave mortal

offence in Russia, and from that moment he

fell completely from Russian favour. The Court

circles in St. Petersburg, which had been hostile

to him from the beginning, now began to intrigue

against him in Bulgaria, their efforts findinga ready response in the pro-Russian party.The first Serbian War in 1885 afforded splendid

proof of Alexander's military organization, but

his influence was too far undermined, and even

his victories failed to save him. The tide of

adverse circumstances was too strong and led

Bulgaria 85

to the inevitable but, fortunately, bloodless

coup d'etat in 1886. Prince Alexander was taken

from his palace by night, transported over the

frontier and formally deposed.Prince Alexander left Bulgaria a well-organized

State, only disturbed by internal party hatreds.

The new ruler, Prince Ferdinand of Coburg,was received with divided sympathies. Alreadyin many ways his path had been smoothedfor him, but he met with far more oppositionfrom his own people than his predecessor, whomRussia had installed. In spite of all this, the

machinery of State continued in the path of pro-

gress, the constitution of the country was estab-

lished on a broad liberal basis, and the armyincreased in importance from year to year.

With iron perseverance Bulgaria steadily ad-

vanced to take her place among modern states,

and even succeeded in taking the lead in the

Balkan question. The proclamation of Ferdinand

as King of Bulgaria put an end once and for

all to the shadow of Turkish suzerainty, and since

then Bulgaria has been frankly acknowledgedas a strong, free and independent State.

* * * * * '* *ê

:

In the course of years Bulgarian relations

with Russia have passed through many phases,

especially during the reign of King Ferdinand.

As a rule the will of Russia was decisive, but

her general influence always depended on home

86 The Slav Nations

politics and varied with the party in power.Enthusiasm for Russia and antagonism againstRussian influence were alternately the order of

the day. Only the people of Bulgaria remained

constant in their confidence and affection for

Russia ; they could never forget whose hand hadset them free, and even political changes could

not shake them. Certain political circles took

the emancipation from Russia as their party

cry and hoped to make the country great outside

the Russian protectorate. They desired to trans-

late their motto"Bulgaria for the Bulgarians

"

into an absolute fact. This party was founded

by the notorious Stambuloff, and whenever

they came into power they insisted on regardingnot only Russia as the national enemy, but

also the Bulgarian people who were in sympathywith Russia, and they did their utmost to

tyrannize the people out of this"disease."

In fighting for this idea they coined the partycatchword

"Greater Bulgaria

"in the hope

of bribing the people by promises of Macedonia,

Serbia, Greece, and even Constantinople as

future tit-bits. This particular party knew verywell that Russia would never allow the Slav

equilibrium in the Balkans to be upset, and, as it

was not over Slavonic in its sympathies, it wageda bitter opposition against the Russian pro-

tectorate, under which all the Balkan Slav

nations stand to benefit equally. In oppositionto StambulofFs party there arose another, founded

Bulgaria 87

by Karaveloff, the greatest of Bulgarian patriots,

who fought with all the enthusiasm of which

grateful hearts are capable. Karaveloff saw

clearly that Bulgaria would be too weak to

stand alone for a very long time to come, and that

the Russian protectorate was a strong guarantee

against foreign hostile influence. After Karave-

loffs death his ideas found enthusiastic partisansin Czankoff, Radoslavoff and Daneff in spite of

minor tactical party differences. StambulofFs

violent death he was assassinated in the openstreet put an end to the regime of his party for

many years, and brought the moderate pro-Russian parties into power. But Bulgaria was

deeply injured by his policy. He bequeathed a

legacy of discord and hatred at home and pro-voked Russia's displeasure abroad. The new

pro-Russian Government did its utmost to heal

the breach, and succeeded in improving relations

with Russia, but Stambuloff's partisans agitatedin every possible way for the re-instatement of

the radical anti-Russian party. In DushanPetkoff and Evlogij Genadieff they had energetic

leaders, who pursued their goal with all the

characteristic Bulgarian tenacity and a ruthless

persistence that was positively Asiatic. After

Ferdinand had established a personal regime in

Bulgaria, they realized that the turn of fortune's

wheel no longer depended on the temper of the

nation or the strength of a party, but on the will

of the ruler, and they were content to bide their

88 The Slav Nations

time. Among the people they had no following

whatsoever. But whichever party is in power

by the will of the ruler is assured of a majorityin the Parliament. Elections are invariably

manipulated by terroristic pressure from the

authorities. There is no difference except that,

whereas the pro-Russian parties are content to

employ demagogic means, the Stambulovists

have had recourse to bloodshed. At last the

Stambulovists were successful; they came into

power in 1902 (in accordance with the wish

of the highest power in the land) and estab-

lished a reign of terror equal to that of Stam-

buloff himself in its cruelty, but breaking all

previous records as regards corruption. TheStambulovists commanded a crushing majorityin the Sobranye (Parliament) and pursued a

policy of secret provocations against Russia

and the nation. General Ratsho Petroff, a

personal favourite of King Ferdinand and anabsolute nonentity, was the Premier; but the

actual dictator and leader of the Stambulovist

party was Dushan Petkoff, Minister of the

Interior. Once more the policy of the Govern-

ment took an anti-Russian trend, but in the

meantime the nation had developed and stead-

fastly pursued a different policy. To be sure,

under compulsion they had given the Governmenta majority but not their heart, and this heart

now belonged to Russia more than ever. This

sentiment found expression in various violent

Bulgaria 89

onstrations ;it culminated in the assassina-

ion of Petkoff (likewise in the open street)

and in the abuse showered upon King Ferdinand

as he drove to the opening of the National

Theatre at Sofia. From that point Bulgarian

policy took a totally new turn, and for a time

it seemed as if the Slav renaissance had reallytaken root and Bulgaria had at last found

herself. The Balkan Alliance before the war

certainly seemed strong evidence of it.

Bulgaria's relations with Serbia have varied

quite as much as those with Russia, but with the

difference that in these ups and downs the nation

has always been undivided. Bulgarian dis-

trust of Serbia dates from the beginning of the

political independence of the former. Instead

of trying to settle their differences in a brotherly

spirit, and to eliminate the Macedonian bone of

contention by fixing the spheres of interests,

both parties especially Bulgaria worked them-

selves up into a fever of enmity which could

only be mutually detrimental. Actual frontier

collisions added fuel to the fire, and the situation

grew steadily worse. It is safe to say that there

was never any love lost between the Serbs andthe Bulgarians, even if political opportunism at

times dictated a more friendly attitude. Manydiscerning Bulgarian politicians have often tried

to promote a more cordial and neighbourly

90 The Slav Nations

understanding between the two states for the

sake of the Slav cause and the common good,and their Serbian colleagues loyally supportedthem in this. But their work was always undone

by the distrustful attitude of Bulgaria, which

was even increased by foreign influence. In

1885 the nation entered into the war with Serbia

with unanimous enthusiasm and a bloodthirsty

spite almost inconceivable between brother

nations. The war was fierce, and fate favoured

Bulgaria ; but, instead of being content with

their success, and exhibiting a victor's finest

quality humanity, the Bulgarians only grew

increasingly bitter in their hatred towards Serbia,

and showed it in offensive taunts. After their

defeat the Serbs obviously could not feel very

friendly towards their neighbours, but I do not

believe they hated them in their souls. Butfrom one cause or another it was impossible to

find the way to friendship. The Bulgariansdeclared that their differences with Serbia were

by no means settled in this war, and that the

Macedonian question would have to be decided

beyond dispute. Thus the war was continued,

unfortunately not only with the pen, but also

with arms, for the Serbian and Bulgarian bands

in Macedonia waged war upon each other more

fiercely than upon the Turks. Matters went

from bad to worse for both nations, and especi-

ally for the Slav cause in the Balkans. Russia

exerted all her influence to reconcile the two, but

Bulgaria 91

with no result beyond promises of amendment.Several influential Slav personages were equallyunsuccessful until the youth of the Southern

Slavs entered the lists with a new plan of cam-

paign, and attacked the problem from the stand-

point of Southern Slav Culture. The authors

and artists of Croatia and Slavonia, who had

long stood in friendly relations with Serbia, madeit their business to include the Bulgarians in the

cause of Southern Slav Culture. As the intel-

lectual youth of Bulgaria was at that time passing

through a phase of national regeneration anddesired to widen their horizon, these efforts

fell on fruitful soil. Soon afterwards joint

exhibitions of Southern Slav artists were ar-

ranged in Belgrade, Sofia, and Zagreb, and in

each case an Authors' Congress was held simul-

taneously. By these meetings and mutual inter-

course many sharp corners were smoothed away,and many points of difference were abolished,

chiefly by the help of the Croats. Serbs and

Bulgarians meeting eye to eye at last realized

that they were brothers, sharing a commonfuture. The Exhibition in Belgrade coincided

with the coronation of King Peter, and we wit-

nessed the unexpected spectacle of Bulgarians

acclaiming the King with as much enthusiasm

as the Serbs. Those were the days of brother-

hood and fellowship. The representatives of

Bulgarian art and literature took their mission

seriously and sincerely, proving true apostles

92 The Slav Nations

of peace and friendship between the two peoples.

They reaped considerable success, for the tide

of mutual enmity subsided, and when King Peter

came to Sofia on an official visit he met with a

reception that expressed not merely the pompand circumstance of a Court but the heartfelt

cordiality of a friendly people. It must not be

forgotten that in this rapprochement good service

was rendered by those politicians of both coun-

tries who persistently did their best to improvemutual relations. Chief among these is the

Serbian statesman, Nikola Pasic. He cultivated

this mutual friendship so successfully that it

culminated in the Balkan Alliance, which would

have proved a lasting blessing to the whole of the

Balkans if it had not been broken by the attack

of Bregaliiica. Yet the collapse of the Alliance

was not due to Bulgaria, but to other extraneous

influences.

I have briefly touched upon Bulgarian relations

with Russia and Serbia in order to give a brief

sketch of the only too frequent mistakes made

by Bulgaria's official Government. The Bul-

garians possess many excellent qualities, and, as

a nation, have a distinct claim on our respect ;

but they have one drawback : they are not

independent in politics, and their policy is not

the outcome of the requirements of the times,

as a rule it is not even suited to them, but is

Bulgaria 93

merely the mouthpiece of foreign influences.

Whenever these influences were Russian they at

least did not clash with the interests of the

people or do any particular harm. But, unfortu-

nately, Bulgarian policy has to a great extent

followed in Germany's footsteps, and for a longtime German influence especially in recent

years has made alarming progress in Bulgaria,The first to fall a victim to this influence were

Stambuloff and his followers who had made so

free with the motto "Bulgaria for the Bul-

garians." And, in proportion to the vehemence

with which they pursued their corrupt policy,

they imported the German element into Bulgaria.

Intellectually it would be quite impossible to

Germanize the Bulgarians, but, as regards their

political economy and foreign policy they fell

more and more under German ascendancy.The Eastern expansive policy of Germany and

Austria-Hungary, finding the doors fast closed in

Serbia, was content for the moment to ignore an

obdurate opponent, and insinuated itself into

Bulgaria as being free from the infection of"

fantastic Slav ideals." In King Ferdinand, as

a German prince, German propaganda found a

distinct well-wisher. The Bulgarian stock market

was controlled by German trade, Austria-Hungaryand Germany founded branch banks and business

houses in Bulgaria. German and Austrian Am-bassadors could always command the ear of the

Foreign Office. And Germany bestowed her

94 The Slav Nations

favour or disfavour in proportion to the pro-German or pro-Russian sympathies of the Govern-

ment. In face of this tide of Germanism all

honest Bulgarian politicians are confronted with

a herculean task, if the country is to be saved

from becoming simply a vassal state to Germany.In the events which preceded the second Balkan

War their labours appeared to have borne fruit,

and Germany and Austria were suddenly con-

fronted with a fact they had never even contem-

plated an alliance between Bulgarians and the

detested Serbs, and even a military convention

between these two against Austria. But their

amazement was only a thing of the momentGerman influence redoubled its efforts, and the

second Balkan War was due to its machinations.

Bulgaria's defeat in the second Balkan Warhas filled the nation with a burning, unquenchablehatred against Serbia. The realization of their

Macedonian ambition, which had been almost

within their grasp, had vanished in a bitter

disappointment and plunged the heroic victors

of Kirkilisse into an agony of sullen despair.When the first stupefying shock was over, the

thought of revenge came uppermost, and every-one foresaw that at the next opportunity the

brother nations would again fly at each other's

throats.

Bulgaria 95

It would be unreasonable to deny the Bul-

garian claim to part of Macedonia. If a great

national problem is to be permanently and satis-

factorily solved, the principal of nationalitycannot be ignored. But Bulgaria exceeded the

principles of nationality in her demands and

aimed at a position of supremacy in the Balkans.

By her acquisition of Thrace it became necessaryto revise the stipulations of the Alliance Treaty,

and, if the Allies could have arrived at any con-

clusion, or accepted the arbitration of the Tsar,

to-day the position of the Balkans in the presentcrisis would be more favourable.

The Bulgarian nation cannot be held respon-sible for the crime of Bregalnica. It merely

played a passive part. The official perpetrator,

supposed to have remained undiscovered to this

day, was guided not by the will of the nation,

but by orders from Vienna and Berlin, whodesired to be revenged for the affront they had

suffered through the Balkan Alliance. Nothingshort of a despicably devastating blow aimed

at all the Balkan States would suffice, and un-

fortunately they found a ready tool in the wild

ambitions of certain Bulgarian circles. Of course,

the blow was aimed at the detested Serbians,

but with the relentlessness of fate it fell uponthose who had hoped to profit by the Austro-

German intrigue. Though Bulgaria alone suffered

material loss through the war, the whole of the

Balkan States have suffered morallv. For their

96 The Slav Nations

deadly enemy achieved his main object the

breaking up of the Balkan union. Such wasthe lamentable state of affairs in the Balkans

when the present European crisis came to a head.

The Austrian declaration of war upon Serbia

caused a positively insane joy in Bulgaria. It

was balm to the Bulgarian wounds that the great

monarchy should devour their small neighbourtheir brother nation and not one of the heroes

who had helped in the conquest of Adrianoplebe left alive ! All this time they overlooked the

fact that, when Serbia had been disposed of, their

own country would have been the next dish

in the menu ! It was a sordid triumph, neither

manly, nor Slav.

In their satisfaction they even forgot Russia.

No one dreamt that Russia would raise her mightyhand and cry Halt ! to the Austrian devourer.

But when the inevitable occurred, Bulgaria

suddenly found herself face to face with a prob-lem. Russia's word

"Serbia's enemies are my

enemies"

staggered the honest Bulgarian people,who are attached to Russia, and they beganto ask themselves very seriously,

" What next ?"

The first upshot of this was the perceptible

cooling of the anti-Slav agitation ;then the

nation began to reflect. The people and the

patriotic Slavophile circles sent their best wishes,

and their finest General Ratko Dimitrieff

to fight for Russia, and the official Government

proclaimed a strict neutrality. Both these facts

Bulgaria 97

bode well for the future. But the anti-Slav

agitation has by no means lost all its power,and the Stambulovist circles, in conjunctionwith Austro-German emissaries, have not ceased

to stir up the people and the masses againstSerbia and against Russia. Which will pre-

vail ? It is difficult to make any forecast,

especially if one remembers the personal regimeof King Ferdinand, who, in spite of the constitu-

tion of the country, reigns supreme. At the

same time it would be wrong to lose hope andwe must trust that in the decisive hour the Slav

instinct will dominate all other instincts, and

thus not only assist the Slav cause, but also proveof the greatest service to civilized Europe, andabove all things to Bulgaria herself.

Among Bulgarian authors we must also mention Pencho

Slavejkotf (a native of Macedonia), some of whose work hasbeen rendered into English.

CHAPTER VI.

SERBIA.

I. Serbian Self-reliance Characteristics of the Serb

People The Power of the Folk-song RaceConsciousness.

II. History of the Southern Slavs.

III. The Birth of a Nation Prince Milos" The

Great Sower " Alexander KaragjorgjevicMichael Obrenovi6 King Milan Fall of the

Obrenovic Dynasty King Peter The Restora-tion of Serbia's Prestige.

IV. Serbia and Austria A Campaign of CalumnyAnnexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina The BalkanWars Serbia rehabilitated The Tragedy of

Serajevo.

I.

THE free and independent kingdom of Serbia is

undoubtedly the most important of the Southern

Slav States, although she has only three and a

half million inhabitants, and is shut in on all

sides by her six neighbours Austria-Hungary,Roumania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Monte-

negro. In 1817 she was freed from the Turkish

yoke, and in less than 100 years she has developedinto a sturdy, self-reliant state, efficient in an

intellectual, economic and military sense in

98

Serbia 99

spite of constant upheavals at home and abroad.

For all she is and has achieved Serbia is indebted

only to herself, to the capabilities, valour and

perseverance of her own children. Russia washer only foreign protector. The Serb is a straight-

dealing, industrious man, and, like all the Southern

Slavs, essentially poetic. Judged by the standard

of modern school education the average Serbian

peasant is perhaps not so very far advanced, and

usually limits his accomplishments to readingand writing ; but he is keenly observant, and

his natural gifts and mother-wit are so great as

to warrant a very different forecast for his

future than exponents of German "Kultur

"

have so far predicted. Like the Russian and the

Croat, the Serb is above all things a farmer, wholoves his bit of black earth, and cultivates it

with care ;and from this love of the soil spring

his pleasures, his shrewd philosophy, his large

charity towards man and beast, and, above all,

his love of truth and justice. Shall not all the

world be just, even as the earth is just whenshe bestows or withholds her gifts ? From time

immemorial the Serb has had a great feeling for

family ties and the bond of the community.The love he bears his own homestead he extends

to that of his neighbour, and then in a wider

sense to his whole country. Where his love of

country is concerned, political and economic

considerations take a second place. The Serb

loves his country as a bridegroom his bride

100 The Slav Nations

passionately, often unreasonably, but never with

calculation. He desires his beloved land for

himself to keep it untouched by strangers. In

spite of considerable business capacity he is not

aggressive, and does not covet his neighbour's

possessions. But, should his neighbour dare to

move his fence even one inch over the boundary,or purposely let his cattle stray into his meadow,then the Serb becomes fierce, wrathful and un-

forgiving. The Serbian farmer has no need to

study history in order to learn where his neigh-bours have removed his landmarks. His historylives in his songs and ballads, and goes back a

thousand years. These poems tell him every-

thing. Every one of his beautiful folk-songs is a

piece of history, a bit of the past ; and they sink

deeper into his heart than any historical education.

The dates of his power, past splendour and decline

are meaningless to him;

but the sad, deeply-

moving legends in his folk-songs, telling of his

triumphs and his tragedies, plaintively thrilling

with love of country, and his tempestuous ballads

of heroism and revenge these have fostered his

sense of patriotism, his yearning for his down-trodden brothers, and his thirst for retribution.

These folk-songs have been handed down from

one generation to another, and to this day theyhave been preserved in all their pristine purity of

text and melody in the souls and memories of

the Serbian people. It is not necessary at a time

of foreign menace to appeal to the Serb people

Serbia 101

with elaborately-worded proclamations and in-

flammatory speeches. The refrains of their songs

suffice, and they take up arms as one man. Butthe cause must be in harmony with the traditions

of the past. They fight like lions when they goto battle with their ancient songs upon their

lips. Thus did they war with the Turks

thus they are warring now against Austria.

To the Serb the love of his language is second

only to his love of country. The most beautiful

and melodious of all the Slav tongues,* rich in

idiom and soft in modulation, it is specially fitted

to be the medium of folk-poesy. This language,which is identical with that of the Croats (thencethe name Serbo-Croat tongue), has been the

sacred and abiding link between the Serbs and

their still enslaved brothers in Turkey and in

Austria. The Serbian peasant is in the habit of

calling every one who speaks to him in a foreign

language a" Schwabo "

;f but should the strangeraddress him in Serbian, or, indeed, in any of the

Slav tongues, he will say :

" Pa ti si na$"

(Thouart one of us). Undoubtedly, apart from their

national music, this bond of union has been one

of the strongest factors in the preparation of the

future, for through it the Serb can freely com-

municate with his brothers beyond the frontier.

Those dear familiar sounds tell him that his

* This statement has been endorsed by many foreign Slav

scholars. Both Serbia and Croatia have adopted the col-

loquial tongue of Hercegovina as their literary language. -S.T.

f A derisive term for" German."


brothers still live and share his speech, his songsand his yearnings. This explains the unanimous

enthusiasm of the whole nation in the Balkan

War, as well as in the present second war of

liberation. They are not the soldiers of the

king who have gone to war, but the soldiers of

an ideal. The miracles of valour these menhave performed are not the exploits of a war-

machine, but of a great heart, in which hundreds

of thousands of hearts beat as one.

Many people, and especially Germans, have

said that the Serbs are dirty, lazy and dull. As

regards the last of these accusations I amready to admit that such Germans as have comein contact with the people may be excused for

this impression. The Serbian peasant regardsthe

" Schwabo "with extreme distrust. His

natural shrewdness teaches him the wisdom of

appearing as dull as possible before the un-

scrupulous exploiter he knows so well. It wouldbe no advantage to him to inspire confidence in

that quarter, and, as a matter of fact, the Serbian

peasant has often got the better of the apostlesof

"Kultur

"by this little deception. English

and French travellers, who have had dealingswith the Serbs, have spoken of them in most

flattering terms. As regards the other two

indictments, they are only absurd. The Serbian

peasant works very hard indeed. If we consider

the results of his labours, which can be gaugedby the considerable export of farm-produce and

Serbia 103

cattle, and remember that in so poor a countryas Serbia the farmer has not all the latest agri-

cultural improvements at his disposal, it becomesobvious that he has achieved marvels by the

industry of his bare hands. The dirt commented

upon by his critics is nothing more than the

honest dirt of the soil on his hands and clothes ;

but if the immaculate"Michels

"had taken the

trouble to glance round his house they could not

have failed to notice that in cleanliness andneatness most Serbian farm-houses compare verywell with the average farm-house of Western

Europe. A guest of gentle birth receiving hos-

pitality in a Serbian farm-house will certainlyfind nothing to complain of in the way in

which he is fed and accommodated, andhis wants considered. Of course there are

cases of dirt and idleness in Serbia, but then

where shall we find a country quite free from

these . . . ?

A prominent characteristic of the Serb is his

race-consciousness. Russians, Poles, Csechs, and

Bulgars are Russians, etc., first and only Slavs

in a general sense. But the Serbs and Croats

are as much Slavs as they are Serbs and Croats.

Possibly this has not always been so. Perhaps,from being more oppressed and beset by foes

than any of the other Slavs, these nations have

come to look upon their sense of race as a sheet-

anchor to which they clung, at first with hope,and then with heart-felt love. To a Russian,


Slavdom is the symbol of his protectorate, but

to a Serbo-Croat it is the breath of life.

II.

*In prehistoric times, the south-eastern tracts

of the Balkan Peninsula were inhabited byArmenians, who were eventually compelled to

retreat to Asia Minor, about 700 B.C. Thenext inhabitants were the Phrygians, who pos-sessed a well-developed civilization, and pene-trated very far westward ; but with the invasion

of the Thracians from the north, the Phrygianswere likewise forced to migrate to Asia Minor

and only a few scattered groups were left between

the Danube and the Balkan Mountains, where

they remained until the Roman invasion. Unlike

the above-mentioned Semitic races, the Pelasgiansand Lepese, who formed the aboriginal popu-lation of Greece, were of pure Indo-Europeanstock. They were eventually conquered by the

Hellenes, and the illustrious Greek nation sprangfrom the intermingling of these three tribes.

The dawn of history shows the great Peninsula

of Eastern Europe divided between three tribes.

The Greeks dwelt south of Heliakmon and

Olympus/- the Thracians west of the Tekton* Taken from Niko 2upani6 (Delo, 1 903) .

Serbia 105

valley in the eastern portion of the Peninsula,and the Illyrians west of the Pindus. Their

territory extended north as far as the site of

modern Vienna, and south to the Gulf of Corinth.

Of these three peoples the Greeks alone attained

to a high degree of civilization and culture.

They founded several colonies on the narrowcoast-line of Macedonia, but the greater part of

the Peninsula to the west of the Vardar re-

mained Illyrian, and, to the east of the Vardar,Thracian. Only the wealthier classes and the

royal family from which Alexander the Great

traced his descent migrated into these countries

from Grecian Thessaly in search of conquest.The Roman invasion was followed by con-

siderable colonial development. Under the

sound administrative policy of the Romans a

certain level of civilization penetrated to the

greater part of the Peninsula, and a Latinized

dialect became the general language. TheThracians very speedily became Romanized, as

did most of the Illyrians ;the Hellenes alone

retained their national distinction. The Illyrians

eventually disappeared from Macedonia ;but

their kindred tribe, the Albanians (Skipetars,

Arnauts) remain there to this day, although theyshow a strong admixture of ancient Roman and

Slav blood. The Roumanians are the product of

a lingual and racial mixture of Thracian, Romanand Slav elements.

The Great Migration broke up the Roman


Empire (476 A.D.) and Europe was re-distributed

the resulting racial boundaries having for the

most part persisted to this day. The Germanic

tribes set their mark on the North and West,and the Slavs on the East of Europe. In 525 A.D.

the Slavs under the name of"

E/cXaiêot"

are

mentioned as dwelling on the lower Danube.

From that time, and for a century, they wagedfierce warfare against the Eastern Empire, until

the latter became exhausted, and the Balkan

Peninsula was left open to the invaders from

the north.

In the first half of the seventh century, duringthe reigns of the Emperors Phokas (602-610) and

Heraklies (610-642) the Slav hordes over-ran

the countries of the upper and lower Danubelike a flood from Venice to Constantinople,

sweeping southward as far as Cape Matapan.The aboriginal inhabitants fled before themand took refuge in mountain fastnesses, islands,

and walled towns. Christianity eventually tamedthese wild hordes, and peaceful intercourse wasonce more established. Constantinople, Adrian-

ople, Seres, Salonika, Larissa and Patras were

the centres whence the light of Christendom

and Greek culture penetrated to the Slavs.

Who and what manner of people were the

Slavs ? The Roman historian Jordanis (551 A.D.)

already distinguishes the"Sloveni," as he calls

them, from the rest of the Slavs, whom he calls"Veniti." He speaks of an innumerable Slav

Serbia 107

people (" Venetharum natio populosa ") divided

into many tribes, of which the chief were the"Russi," (" Anti ") between the Dniestr and

Dniepr, and the"Sloveni

"on the lower

Danube. It is true that a number of different

tribes were included under this name, just as

to-day it is used to designate the whole Slav

race (" Slavyane"

in Russian,"Slovane

"in

Csech). Strictly speaking only the Southern

Slavs have a right to this name, and until well

into the nineteenth century they styled them-

selves"Sloveni

"in addition to their local

appellations of Croat, Serb, Bulgar, etc. Withthe formation of local states, the local namescame more into use, but in literature and folk-

poesy the name "Sloveni

"is invariably adopted.

As a matter of fact, the local names arose from

the political and historical distribution of the

racej

The geographical position of the Balkan

Peninsula, as well as the two currents of civili-

zation which flowed in upon the Southern Slavs

from either side, prevented the formation of a

United Southern Slav State. They split up into

several lesser states, which soon lost their

freedom, and submitted to foreign rule. Car-

niola was the first to fall a victim, for she passedunder German rule as early as the eighth century.Towards the end of the seventh century the

Finnish tribe of the Bulgars conquered the Slav

tribes north and south of the Balkan range and


incidentally adopted the Slav language as their

own. They merely retained their original name,and their distinctive, coldly methodical genius for

organization a racial characteristic which is

totally absent in the other Southern Slavs.

In a short time the Bulgars also conquered the

Slav tribes in Macedonia, Epirus and Thessaly,and subjugated the whole country as far as the

Morava. In the ninth century the Bulgarian

Empire reached from the Carpathians in Hungaryto the Pannonian Valley, and, as a matter of

fact, Budapest, the capital of Hungary, wasfounded by the Bulgars. The Bulgarian Tsar

Boris was baptized by the apostles Cyril and

Method, who also introduced the Slav liturgy in

Bulgaria. The Slav dialect spoken between

Constantinople and Salonika was adopted as the

literary language, and the Glagolitza (Glagolithic

alphabet) and eventually the Cyrillitza (Cyrillic

alphabet) were introduced. This fact is of

world-wide importance, for on this foundation

rests the whole subsequent intellectual develop-ment of Russia and the Balkan Peninsula in

fact, of Eastern Europe. Under Simeon the

Great (893-927) Slav literature reached its zenith

its golden age. The Moravian monks, whowere driven out by Svatopluk, found a hospitablewelcome in the monasteries around the Lake of

Ochrida, and developed great literary activity.The Southern Slav monasteries sent monks andbooks to Russia, and thus they became the first

Serbia 109

instructors of their mighty brothers in the North.Still later, the Macedonian Empire was foundedand the Emperor Samoilo resided in Ochrida.

He, however, was soon overthrown by the

Byzantine Emperor Basil II. in the Battle of

Belassitza (1018). But the Bulgarian Empirerecovered again under Tsar Ivan Asen II.

(1218-1271) and had reached the zenith of its

power when it was shattered for centuries bythe invading Turks (1391).

The central Southern Slav (Serbian) countries

Illyria, Moesia, and Dalmatia for a long timeremained broken up into separate counties.

Not before the twelfth century did Rasa becomethe centre of a Serbian state, founded by Stefan

Nemanya (1165), to whom the Serbs OWP. thp.

famous Nemanya dynasty. After their victoryover the Byzantines at Kossovo the Serbs pene-trated further and further south towards Mace-

donia. Under DuSan Silni (1331-1355) Serbian

power reached its meridian. He organized the

nation into a state and gave the people goodlaws. In his time Serbia reached from the Save

and the Danube to the Gulf of Corinth, and from

the Adriatic to Mesta on the frontiers of Thrace

and Macedonia. After the battle of Belbushde

(1330) even the Bulgars had to acknowledge the

supremacy of Serbia. The Serbian Metropolitanof Petcha was made Patriarch, the National Serb

Church was founded, and, in the Macedonian townof Skoplye, Dusan Silni proclaimed himself Tsar


of the Serbs, Bulgars and Greeks. With an

army of 100,000 men he marched on Constanti-

nople in order to establish his throne there, and

to be revenged upon the Greeks who had a few

years previously called the Ottoman Turks to

Europe.* But he died on the way, it is said

that he was poisoned by a Greek.

Architectural and literary monuments from

the age of the Serbian rulers|in the thirteenth

and fourteenth centuries still clearly show traces

of the high degree of culture that had spread from

Byzantium, Venice and Florence. But these are

merely sparks which the Serbian discriminative

genius and natural ability would doubtless have

kindled into a bright flame had not the advent of

the Turks frustrated the great plans of DuSanSilni. Constantinople would have remained in

the hands of a Christian people who love art

and progress. No other nation was so well

fitted as the Serbs to infuse new life into the

culture of the ancients. The presence of this

sane and strong young nation would have saved

the humanists their flight from Byzantium.After the death of Dusan Silni the great

Serbian Empire crumbled into a large numberof small states, whose rulers played a dangerous

game, and intrigued one against the other,

whilst the Turks were conquering Thrace. The* This fact is the first proof in history that the Southern

Slavs have from the very beginning been the bulwark of

Christianity, and thereby also the bulwark of Europeancivilization.

Serbia 111

Macedonian despots became vassals to the Turks,and only a few countries like Zeta, Bosnia, andthe empire of Prince Lazar (the Serbia of to-day)maintained their independence. So long as these

countries were free, the Ottoman invasion of

Europe was delayed, because in the Kossovo

polje (the field of Kossovo) Serbia held the keyof Europe. The Turks knew this and constantly

prepared their attacks accordingly. On Vidov-

dan (St. Vitus Day, 1387) 100,000 Serbs and

300,000 Turks met in battle on the Kossovo.

The battle was fierce and the losses on both sides

were enormous. The Serbs lost their Prince

Lazar and all their nobility ; the Turks the greater

part of their army and their Sultan Murat I.

In Europe the report spread that the Serbs hadbeen victorious ; in Florence and Paris all the

bells were rung for joy, and a service of thanks-

giving was held in Notre Dame, which wasattended by Charles VI. with all his Court.

Murat's successor, Bayazit did not penetratefurther ; he permitted the Serbs to retain their

own laws, but they had to acknowledge himas their suzerain. In 1459 Serbia was finally

crushed and fell completely under Turkish rule.

Soon after (1463) the same fate befell Bosnia and

Hercegovina. Only the mountain fastnesses of

Montenegro remained unconquered.


in.

When Serbia began her life as an independentState, she was still bleeding from the manywounds inflicted upon her through centuries of

slavery, and first of all these wounds had to be

tended. The Serbian nation, intellectually and

economically bankrupt from long Turkish misrule,

was in the position of a merchant an honest

fellow, but robbed to his last farthing, whose

ruined shop is being restored to him, and who is

expected to work up the old business to its

former prosperity out of these ruins. Years hadto elapse ere the people got accustomed to the

new order of things, and, out of the welter of

beginnings, found the way to sound civic develop-ment. In those days Serbia fell a victim to

every political infantile disease, but on the other

hand she was inspired with a poetic, truly Slav

patriotism. Their golden freedom, which theyhad so long yearned and fought for, and had nowat last won, affected the nation not as a political

event but as a great family festival, in which

all the members were united in love and joy.

They revelled in their new-found freedom;

the

sordid considerations of the day were put off till

the morrow, or left to the care of a small body of"cold-blooded

"men. Civic law and order, and

regularity in the administration unheard of

under Turkish rule were first looked upon as

Serbia 113

purely miraculous, and then tacitly accepted as

the inevitable consequences of freedom. Theidea of a free State is only of theoretical value to

the Serbs, the main thing for them is that theyshould be a free people. As a free people theyfollowed their leaders not as superiors, but as

children obey their fathers. With childlike sim-

plicity they gathered round their rural magistrateto hear his instructions, and in the same spirit

they assembled under the ancient plane-tree in

the Topchider Park to hear Milos, their first

Gospodar and Prince, dispense wise counsel andeven-handed justice. But in these council-meet-

ings between ruler and people was sown the

seed of the true constitution of the State, and,

like the empire of Dusan Silni in days gone by,modern Serbia has grown up out of her own people.And this is why Serbia is an eminently nationalistic

state, free and independent of foreign influence.

Perhaps in some ways this has been a drawback,but it has also been a great source of strength to

Serbia. The intimate connection between the

reigning house and the people proved a bulwark

against foreign attempts at denationalization,

and gave Serbia the necessary strength to keepherself free from Germany's corroding influence

to this day.In every way the patriarchal state of Prince

Milos proved the best possible preparation for

Serbia's political future. She matured slowly,like an apple in the sun, and fortunately was not


compelled to ripen unnaturally. Moreover, the

inborn gifts of the Serbian people, which I have

already mentioned, proved a great help to this

process. They began to see that poetry has its

limitations, that a free people must become an

organized state, and that political order, thoughit cannot be set in verse, is the only guarantee of

prosperity to the nation. Of course, legal decisions

and taxes were vexatious matters, but their goodeffect on the community was recognized. Thelaw expressed the will of the people and was no

longer resented as an imposition.It was fortunate for the young State that

Dositij Obradovit, the greatest educational geniusof Serbia, had lived before this critical time. Helaid the foundations of a national educational

system that most necessary discipline for a

young nation and was beyond doubt one of the

greatest men the Southern Slavs have producedin modern times. In Serbia he is called

"the

great sower.1 ' He truly sowed the seed of

enlightenment, not only in Serbia but wherever

Serbs and Croats live. Dositij Obradovic" has

not educated individuals, but whole generations,and through them the entire nation. And if the

modern State is synonymous with civilization,

then Dositij Obradovic was the true founder of

Serbia. He sowed the seed, all others have onlybeen reapers.

Prince Milos, who abdicated in 1839, wassucceeded by his son Milan Obrenovid II. He

Serbia 115

died, however, within a month of his accession.

His successor and younger brother, Michael, wassoon involved in serious differences with the

Senate, and had to quit the country in 1842.Serbia now elected Alexander Karagjorgjevic',son of the Black Kara-Gjorgje, who headed the

insurrection against Turkey in 1804. In spite of

his great gifts as a statesman, he failed to maintain

himself on the throne on account of his leaningstowards Austria. The nation, who instinctivelyscented their ancient enemy, mistrusted him, andmatters finally came to a crisis in 1858. TheSerbian Skuptchina (Parliament) formally deposedAlexander and again elected an Obrenovid to

the throne of Serbia. This was Milo Obreno-

vic*, whose short reign was not remarkable for

any striking events. His son Michael succeeded

him in 1860.

Michael Obrenovid was a brilliant, broad-minded,noble-hearted man. He found the national

harvest already well grown, and courageouslycontinued the work of his early predecessors.He thoroughly understood his people, with all

their gifts and limitations, and, above all, he

realized that the moment had arrived for Serbia

to become "westernized

"without sacrificing

her national qualities. He "Europeanized

"the

State and made it respected at home and abroad.

The educational system made great strides and

was modernized in his reign. The finances of the

country were placed on a sound basis, agriculture


was developed on modern, rational lines, and

industrial enterprise and foreign trade madetheir first appearance. Under the strong guidinghand of their prince, the organization of the army

kept pace with the economic development of the

nation. He initiated Serbian foreign policy* andwas the best and wisest diplomat of his country.His policy towards Russia resulted in the Russian

protectorate, which has proved so powerful to

this very day, but it also aroused the jealousyof Austria. Above all things Michael Obrenovic

was a Serb, and his Slav policy was not onlycarried on in the interests of the nation, but

dictated by his heart. He evolved the idea of a

Serbia with a seaboard on the Êgean as well as

the Adriatic. He knew that the future of his

country will never be secure until all Serbs andCroats are united, and the ways open which will

permit of a corresponding economic prosperity.Serbia's demand for a seaboard is not mere

aggression, but the recognition of a vital problemwhich will be disposed of as soon as her minimum

requirements are satisfied.

Under the next Obrenovic", the jovial Prince

Milan (subsequently King Milan), Serbian policy

occasionally deviated from the lines laid down

by Prince Michael. Unfortunately, the goodservices which King Milan undoubtedly rendered

his country are overshadowed by his many* It is due to his diplomacy that Serbia was freed from

the Turkish garrisons in her territory.

Serbia 117

serious mistakes. At first his genial personalityand great popularity seemed to fit him very well

for the continuation and completion of the

work Prince Milan had begun. But apparentlyhis ambitions did not lie that way, for his reign

presents a long record of discord at home andabroad. The party-spirit in civil and militaryaffairs assumed formidable dimensions, and the

State repeatedly barely escaped shipwreck.Milan was a spoilt man of the world. He pre-ferred to live abroad and often left the adminis-

tration for long periods wholly in the hands of

the Cabinet of the moment, who, in the absence

of the ruler, often found it most difficult to

maintain their authority in the face of opposingfactions. Abroad the king became acquaintedwith eminent foreign nobles and statesmen, and,

as in most cases these were Austrians, he fell

under the influence of the Monarchy. The tide

of German pressure towards the East began to

filter through into Serbia, and at times the

official policy was frankly pro-Austrian. The

King was still popular, but the people graduallylost confidence in him, and on several critical

occasions he was fain to"save

"himself by

brilliant addresses to the people.* But the

Rtiyal blunders became increasingly frequent,

and were further aggravated by intolerable

*King Milan was a fascinating orator, and often the

populace, who had assembled with the intention of demon-

strating against him, were so carried away by his oratorythat their abuse was converted into cheers.


domestic dissensions which finally led to the

divorce of Queen Natalie. Fortunately Serbia

possessed singularly able statesmen during the

reign of King Milan, and it is solely due to their

efforts that the country escaped public disaster.

The present Serbian Premier, Nikola Pa&ic*,

already played a prominent part in those days,and repeatedly saved his King and country in

times of imminent danger. But presently matters

became intolerable, and King Milan abdicated

in favour of his son Alexander, who was still

under age. The reign of Alexander is the

darkest period in the history of modern Serbia.

During his minority the country was governed bya regency, and all went well ; but when Alex-

ander assumed the sceptre himself, the state

began to crumble in its very foundations. Men-

tally deficient, and therefore dangerous in all

his actions, he inaugurated a rule of autocracy,tolerated no opposition, and endowed every one

of his mistakes^with the distinction of a"supreme

command." The rift between King and people

grew wider and more impassable, and finally

became an abyss when he insisted on raising

his mistress Draga Maschin to the position of

legal wife and Queen of Serbia. But even this

was not all. The new queen, with all the blind

conceit of a parvenue, introduced the worst typeof petticoat government at court and in politics,

which showed itself in graft, corruption, un-

blushing exhibitions of contempt for the people,

Serbia 119

and insults to statesmen, scholars and especially

to the officers of the army. When the scandal

about the supposititious birth of an heir occurred,

the wrath of the people turned to fury, and, in

the night of May 28th, 1903, the garrison of

Belgrade carried out the sentence of the nation

upon the King and Queen.

The accession of the Karagjorgjevid dynasty,who were really entitled to the crown, opens a

new national and political era for Serbia. Anold man was called to the throne, but a grand

seigneur of the best French school a school

which did not produce debauchees and Boulevard-

trotters, but soldiers and statesmen of the first

order. King Peter was a Western Europeanin the best sense of the word. He was not onlyof the blood of the black Karagjorgje, the scion

of a house of heroes, but an experienced soldier

and statesman. During the long years of his

exile he was an officer in the French army, and

in virtue of his social position had every oppor-

tunity of garnering valuable experience both

in peace and in war. All this time he was

emphatically the"one who looked on

"and

watched the development of his country from

afar her struggles and her trials. Although he

never resigned his pretendership to the Serbian

throne he was often, surely very often, convinced

that he himself would never be called to ascend


it. But his heart and his love ruled with the

Serbian people, and probably he felt the mis-

fortunes of his country more keenly than anyother Serbian. It is absurd to hold King Peter

responsible for the murder of his predecessor.

Any one privileged to know him would indig-

nantly repudiate the thought. His accession to

the throne was merely a consequence and in no

way a cause of the Obrenovic tragedy. But

Europe was too horrified at the murder to dis-

criminate at the time, and would accept neither

reasons nor explanations proving the necessityof making a fresh start and this quite apartfrom the circumstance of the murder. Europeregarded the deed and not the causes of the deed ;

and refused to search her own histories for

similar deeds provoked by similar causes. Thus

King Peter was confronted with a two-fold

difficulty. On the one hand both he and his

country had forfeited the sympathies of Europe,and on the other he succeeded to the govern-ment of a country demoralized by the previous

reign, and torn by party dissensions. It was a

most difficult situation, so many conflicting

interests had to be reconciled ! Truly a very

weighty task for an elderly and perhaps already

world-weary man.

But King Peter did not come to Serbia as a

pretender who has at last gained the crown he

has coveted; he came as the champion of the

Serb ideal of the past whose last representative

Serbia 121

had been Michael Obrenovic, the ideal of national

expansion, of a Serbian future. He recognizedhis difficulties but attacked them without

flinching. For the Serb nation impulsive,

tempestuous and sensitive it was a blessing to

pass under the guidance of a calm, wisely delib-

erate king. He went his way step by step, firmly,

and without illusions. Amid the tumult of

acclamations that greeted him in Belgrade his

was probably the only heart heavy with care.

He knew only too well that the violent coupd'etat was not the solution but merely the begin-

ning of the problem. This consciousness and

his patriotic ideal have been the ruling motives

of his reign from the very first. One of KingPeter's first tasks was the rehabilitation of

Serbia in the eyes of Europe. Unjustly enoughthe entire responsibility for the loss of Serbia's

prestige was laid to his charge, and it was uphill

work to alter the opinion of Europe, but he

refrained from protestations and excuses. Herealized that Serbia must be regenerated in such

a fashion as to win back the full confidence of

Europe. By the wisdom of his policy and with

the help of able statesmen principally Nikola

PaSid he steered Serbia's foreign policy back

into a healthy, normal channel, and within a few

years the country once more took her positionas a well-ordered European State apart from

the calumnies and enmity of Germany and

Austria. In fact, this successful reconstruction


was proof in the eyes of Europe that the dynastic

change was a necessity for Serbia, and that in the

solution of the Balkan problem she might cer-

tainly be trusted to take her part of the burden

as a civilized State. She proved her mettle

soon afterwards in the first Balkan War, for in

this war the ideal of the King which he shares

with his people scored its first great success,

when the hard-pressed nation displayed a high

degree of valour, statesmanship and true nobility.

In his ten years' reign King Peter has gonefar to restore to Serbia her ancient glories.

During his reign her politics have become moresettled at home and abroad. Agriculture, trade

and industry have improved and expanded.Literature and art have made miraculous strides,

so that Serbia may fairly consider herself the

equal of the Western nations; and the Serbian

army has now demonstrated its excellent or-

ganization and great military value in three

successive wars.

King Peter, whose short reign became so

stormy towards the end, may look back on the

results of his labours with the same calm assur-

ance with which he took up the sceptre. Hehas quickened the new soul of Serbia, and althoughhe retired shortly before the outbreak of the

present war, and entrusted the sceptre to his

son, his spirit still lives in his people and armyand please God will lead them both to victory.

Serbia 123

IV.

Serbian relations with Austria have been an

important, and indeed the decisive, factor in

recent Serb history ;and the events which are

the outcome of these relations will either bringabout the territorial consolidation of Serbia or

her final ruin. Austria-Hungary was never a

well-wisher of Serbia, although she has often

brazenly posed as her benefactor. It has alwaysbeen Austria's aim to detach Serbia from

Russian influence, and to bring her under the

soul-saving protectorate of the Monarchy. Thenearest road to Salonika lies through Serbia, andat all costs this route had to be secured. If onlySerbia could be made dependent upon Austria-

Hungary, it would be much better for the aims

of Germanistic expansive policy ;it would also

paralyse the Southern Slavs in the Monarchy.

Knowing that the Great Powers, especially Russia,

would never permit an effective occupation of

Serbia, Austria sought by intrigues in the spirit

of Metternich to make her influence predominantin Serbia, also economically to weaken her as a

state, by vexatious commercial treaties in the hopeof rendering her more amenable towards the

Monarchy. Serbia bravely resisted all these

attempts and suffered considerable material loss ;

but she stood firm in the knowledge that she is


the first and strongest fortress in the way of

German pressure towards the East, and staunchlybelieved in the ultimate success of her cause. Thebrave little country had a mission to fulfil, not onlyin her own interest, but in that of the Slav race

and the whole of Europe. Vienna and Berlin

knew that Serbia was a very hard nut, but theyfelt confident of cracking it in the end. When

open aggression failed, they put a good face on

the matter, and assured the hard-pressed Serbs

of their kind intentions. The occupation of

Bosnia and Hercegovina was the first tangible

proof of these kind intentions, for on that occasion

Austria "delivered" two million Serbs and

Croats from Turkish bondage. UnfortunatelySerbia did not in the least appreciate this

"bene-

fit," whereby a large number of her kindred were

handed over to the tender mercies of Austria,

whose solicitous care of her Southern Slav

subjects was only too well known in fact,

instead of being grateful, Serbia never ceased to

point out her own national and territorial claims

upon Bosnia and Hercegovina. Naturally this

insolent attitude on the part of Serbia provokedthe animosity, and presently the official disfavour,

of Austria. This disfavour was displayed on

every possible occasion although it always wore

a sanctimonious garb. Serbia was too weak and

unprepared to retort aggressively upon this

animosity ; her defence was limited to diplomaticmeasures and the moral support of Russia. It

Serbia 125

was a marvellous achievement on the part of

her statesmen that in the face of strong popular

feeling they so long staved off an open rupture ;

and that they did not let the thirty-five years of

misgovernment in Bosnia and Hercegovina, or

the oppression of the Southern Slavs, drive

them to a desperate decision. The influence of

European diplomacy was doubtless very helpful ;

still, the Serbian people displayed admirable

restraint under constant provocation. Germanyand Austria, who are able to corrupt the greater

part of their own Press, and even many foreign

newspapers, and can command a whole staff

of political agitators, never relaxed their cam-

paign of abuse and calumny against Serbia, and

everywhere represented her as an incapable,

barbarous, and dangerous State. In this theywere only too successful. Unfortunately the

condition of Serbian home politics has often been

deplorable, and in addition to this the murderof the King and Queen in 1903 provided amplematerial for biassing public opinion in Europe.On the whole Europe endorsed these calumnies

and refused to listen to the counter-protestationsof Russia and other Slavs, because the testimonyof barbarians and troglodytes was obviouslyvalueless. Serbia was frequently reduced to

desperate straits. She was really defending the

cause of civilization by stemming the tide of

Germanism in the East she was preparing a

great world-work, and her reward was merely


contempt or a pitying smile. Without Russia's

moral support she must have been swamped byAustria long ago.

With the annexation of Bosnia and Herce-

govina in 1909 and the disgraceful circumstances

that preceded it (which I shall touch upon in a

later chapter), the mutual enmity between

Austria and Serbia reached its height. Warbetween Austria-Hungary on the one handand Russia and Serbia on the other, seemed

imminent, and was only averted by the inter-

vention of European diplomacy, especially bythe efforts of Sir Edward Grey. In a declaration

dated March 3ist, 1909, Serbia acknowledgedthe annexation as an accomplished fact, and

promised henceforth to conduct her policy in a

neighbourly and friendly spirit towards Austria.

This was the last act of self-abasement extorted

from the unhappy country, but by no meansthe end of hostile agitations. On the contrary,these only became more virulent, because Austria

considered the annexation of Bosnia and Herce-

govina merely a prelude to the invasion of Serbia.

Hence the necessity of representing Serbia as a

menace to the peace of Europe, and especially to

the position of the Monarchy as a Great Power.

Serbia's prestige declined still further. But

suddenly a new contingency arose, and the

Balkan War of 1912 brought to light a series of

glorious proofs of heroism, self-control, statesman-

ship, and military and national ability on the

Serbia 127

part of Serbia. The contempt of Europe was

transformed into admiration, and Serbia sud-

denly found herself appreciated at her true

value. This was a blow Austria could not

forgive, and still less the fact that the criminal

blunder of the second Balkan War, whereby she

fondly hoped that Serbia would be crushed,

proved unsuccessful. A strong and respectedSerbia was a thorn in the flesh to Austria and a

disquieting influence among her Southern Slav sub-

jects. Henceforth the Viennese Foreign Office con-

centrated its efforts on the destruction of Serbia

at all costs. First of all Serbia was confronted

with a demand for such trade concessions as

would render her economically dependent uponAustria, and the next commercial treaty was to

have placed Austria in the position of a"most

favoured nation." In politics Austria had re-

course to the invention of the spectre of a"Greater

Serbia," an idea which hitherto had merely

possessed intellectual significance, and whose

representatives were a few hot-heads quiteunconnected with Serbian official policy. Tomake this new propaganda convincing Austria

employed a large number of agents provocateurs,

whose masterpiece appears to have been the

attempt upon the Archduke Francis Ferdinand

at Serajevo, June 28th, 1914. Truly, when all

the side-issues are taken into account, it seems

more than likely that the attempt at least was

staged by Austrian agents. Was the assassination


merely an accident ?* It is to be feared that

this is one of the unhappy mysteries which will

never be fully cleared up.

* See the articles in No. 1 6 of"the Round Table." (Mean-

time the sentences in the Serajevo murder trial have been

passed, and it is significant that five Serbs who had no partin the murder have been condemned to death, whereas theactual murderer, Princip, and the bomb-thrower, Cabrinovic",were merely sentenced to terms of imprisonment.) S. T.

CHAPTER VII.

MONTENEGRO.

The Country of the Black Mountain Women Warriors

King, Poet and Farmer Historical Sketch of

Montenegro Petar I., Petrovic* Petar II.

Pro-Russian Policy A Royal Poet Nikola I.

ALL I have said about Serbia applies equally to

Montenegro. The nations are one and the

same : they are identical in every respect and

only geographically divided. Montenegro is the

Serbian advance guard on the Adriatic. It is

the eagle's nest of Europe, the loftiest symbolof freedom and independence. Nature herself

has given this people an impregnable fortress,

and placed in their hands the keys of Southern

Slav liberty. From the height of their barren

Black Mountains the valiant high-spirited Mon-

tenegrin has looked down for centuries on the

rise and fall of his kinsmen all around him. In

all the tragedies that have passed in the shadowof his eyrie he has played his part, both as

dauntless warrior, and the bard of freedom whofrom his mountain heights sang the song of the

future to his enslaved brothers. The Monte-

negrin has always been the same. In war-time

129


he is a warrior, in times of peace a shepherdarmed to the teeth. He is inseparable from

his weapons, but only uses them against his

enemies. Though his aspect is martial and his

glance fierce, he bears a kindly, loveable heart.

Comparing his outward appearance with his soul,

one might call him a lion with the heart of a

dove. A friend, whoever he may be, is welcomedwith open arms, and his rough, powerful hand can

be gently caressing as a child's. But an enemywill be crushed by its weight ; for the Monte-

negrin hates his foe, hates him passionately,

fiercely and implacably, and he is ever on the

watch for him. Even at tender age the children

are decked with weapons and have to learn

the use of them under the eyes of their elders.

And the enemy is always the"Schwabo." The

women are just as efficiently trained to arms

as the men, and it has often happened that the

Montenegrin Amazons played a decisive part in

warfare ; and, when weapons were scarce, the

women rolled mighty rocks from the heights

down upon their enemies. Fighting is a grim

pleasure to the Montenegrin in war-time, and

his recreation in times of peace. Whoever has

travelled in the Montenegrin mountains cannot fail

often to have noticed two goatherds in the midst

of their herds, fencing with their"Handzars

"

(the sheathless scimitar of the Montenegrins) and

not far off two goat-girls similarly engaged.The Montenegrin is not a great farmer. The

Montenegro 131

soil is poor and barren; yet every patch of fertile

ground is utilized to the utmost of its resources,

and good soil is often carried from a great dis-

tance and deposited in the stony corries for the

cultivation of a little maize and corn. But the

Montenegrin cares less for a full stomach than

for a light heart. It is a people that is for ever

singing, and the wealth of Serbo-Croat folk-songs

provides them with ample material.

The relations between the Montenegrins andtheir rulers is without parallel in Europe. Cer-

tainly the King is the"Gospodar

"(ruler), but

he is really only the chief warrior, the chief

farmer, and the chief poet of his country. The

dynasty is descended from Montenegrin farmers

and is deep-rooted in the people themselves.

The Montenegrin does not consider his King so

much the head of the State, as the leader of the

nation, and relations between them are familiar

and fraternal. The King is the father, and the

people are his children in a perfectly patriarchalsense. There is no trace of Western Europeanformality in their intercourse. The familiar"thou

"is used on either side, and the simplest

peasant shakes hands with the King as a matter

of course. But in war time the King's word is

law, and the unquestioning discipline of the

people is founded on their mutual relations in

times of peace founded on the love of the peoplefor their ruler.

The Montenegrins are Serbs by nationality,


and their Royal House, like that of Serbia, has

sprung from the people. Neither country has

ever been ruled by a foreign prince.

In olden times it was the custom that the

elders of the nation, without special regard to

diplomatic qualifications, should guide the fate

of their country by the rules of ancient custom.

Chief among them was the Vladika,* who pos-sessed no special privileges as ruler but merelytook precedence in virtue of his ecclesiastical

dignity. His education was limited to what was

necessary for his clerical duties, and he knewlittle or nothing of state-craft. The character

of a given reign depended mainly on the prevail-

ing relations with the Turks, and Montenegrinaffairs prospered in proportion to the peaceableor aggressive attitude of these neighbours. Awell-ordered state, enlightenment, and education

were luxuries no one desired or required, and the

people lived and fought merely for the needs

of the day. But, although they are naturally

gifted, the nation could not develop without

any means of education ; and, apart from the art

of war they were simple and unlettered as

children. Mere adventurers have several times

taken advantage of this simplicity. The most

flagrant instance was that of Stjepan Mali, a

Russian swindler, who gave himself out to be a

scion of the Vojevode family Petrovid and pro-claimed himself lord of Montenegro.

* The Bishop as spiritual and temporal head of the State.

Montenegro 133

Affairs improved when Vladikas of Crnojevie family were succeeded by Vladikas of the

true Petrovi6 stock in the leadership of the

country. The first of these, Petar I., Petrovid,

was still content to follow in the footsteps of his

predecessors, and influenced the education of his

people only in so far as he himself was cultured.

His immediate successor Petar II., Petrovic*

Njego, earned undying fame in the history of

Montenegro.Petar II. became Vladika and Gospodar of

Montenegro at the age of seventeen. At the time

of his accession he was scarcely more than a

Montenegrin peasant lad, accustomed to dealingwith attacks from the Turks, but otherwise

without education. The young ruler knew nothingwhatever of system or the deeper meaning of

learning and education, when he took the helm.

Times were troubled and difficult, for, even in

Montenegro opinions were divided. There were

several other pretenders not so much because

of internal dissensions as in consequence of

foreign intrigue. It was not a matter of indiffer-

ence for the neighbouring states whether the

ruler of Montenegro was their friend and tool,

or whether he was a man of independent per-

sonality and inclined to follow Montenegrintradition in considering Russia. The Sandjaksof Skutari and Hercegovina (at that time still

the Sandjak Novipazar) were Montenegro'svulnerable point. For nearly a century Montenegro

The Slav Nations

had already sought ways and means of extendingher territory as far as the frontier of modernSerbia. Moreover, from the days of Peter the

Great an idea had existed that, with the help of

the Serbs of Old Serbia, and the Serbs and Croats

of Bosnia and Hercegovina, Montenegro should

prepare the way for the emancipation of her

kindred from the Turkish yoke. Poverty, how-

ever, lack of numbers on the part of Monte-

negro, and the vacillations of Russian diplomacyfrustrated these plans, and Vladika Petar I. did

not feel strong enough to embark on this enter-

prise. Petar II. realized that, before Montenegrocould hope to attempt this task, she would have to

strengthen her hands and those of her brothers

awaiting liberation by a thorough-going pro-Russian policy, which would secure them the

protection of the Russian Empire. She must also

provide her children with the means of education.

He knew well that nothing can be done with

an unlettered people. The lines laid down byhim were quite correct. Russian society under-

stood the Prince's aims and gave him sufficient

financial assistance for the foundation of schools,

etc., and Russian diplomacy supported him

strongly in his politics. Petar II. set about his

educational mission with devotion and persever-

ance, and even found time to complete his ownstudies. When he attained to man's estate hewas already famous as one of the finest of the

Southern Slav poets, and as one of the patrons of

Montenegro 135

culture among the oppressed Slav peoples.* Buthis path was by no means strewn with roses.

The very strength of his independent personalitylaid him open to insidious intrigues. True, he

followed Russia's advice, but, while he was still

a youth, full of the healthy, impetuous ardour of

his mountain home, he often transgressed the

rules of European diplomacy. Diplomacy failed

to understand his actions, and he, being a true

Montenegrin, could not wait with his hands folded

to see what diplomacy might achieve, while the

Turks were harrying his borders. Even the

Russian Consul in Dubrovnik (Ragusa) often

complained to his Government that the Prince"was better fitted for a grenadier than for a

Vladika"(Bishop) . And, of course, Vienna always

stirred up enmity against him. But Petar II.

remained a staunch Montenegrin warrior, andthe older he grew the less he was able to adapthimself to the wiles of diplomacy. He devoted

himself to his people, who loved, honoured, andrevered him. But foreign intrigue began to

tell upon him. Disappointments increased with

advancing years, and he found little but bitter-

ness in the onerous duties of a prince ; this

bitterness and disappointment find eloquent

expression in his poems. At last circumstances

became so unendurable to him that he thought of

* His collection of poems,"Gorski Vienac," is a lasting

monument of the Southern Slav literature of the last century.S.T.


abdicating, and was probably only deterred fromhis purpose by his ardent love for his people.

For, despite all vexations, he cannot have failed

to see that his presence was not useless and that

his work and activities were bringing a blessingto his people and laying the foundations of the

future.

His nephew and successor, Danilo I., was the

last"Vladika

"on the Montenegrin throne. He

was far better versed in the arts of diplomacy,but his reign will never rival that of his uncle in

importance. He fell a victim to assassination

in 1860 at Kotor (Cattaro) and was succeeded

by his nephew Nikola I., the first secular princeof Montenegro.

In Nikola I. fate bestowed upon Montenegro a

ruler with a remarkably strong character andfirst-rate diplomatic talent. The country was

re-organized from within, without giving offence

to any of the sacred traditions of the Monte-

negrins. In Nikola's foreign policy veritable

masterpieces were achieved from time to time.

Without departing from the traditional pro-Russian policy Nikola established excellent rela-

tions with all non-Slav states, especially with

Austria, and made the utmost use of every oppor-

tunity whereby his country and people mightbenefit. A man of great personal charm, highlycultured and refined, Nikola I. has enthusiastic

friends and admirers in every part of the world.

The unity of the Southern Slavs is one of his

Montenegro 137

favourite ideals, and he has laboured unceasinglyto promote this cause. His personal relationshipto several of the Royal Houses of Europe madeit possible for him to work effectively and winfriends for the Slav cause where another mighthave failed to do so.

What Nikola I. has done for Montenegroduring the fifty years of his reign is more or less

generally known. The education of the people,which began under Petar II., has made splendid

progress under Nikola I., and to-day Montenegrocan boast a large number of statesmen, poets,scholars and men of letters for so small a country.When the Balkan crisis arrived, Nikola, then

already King of Montenegro, true to the spirit

of his fathers, unhesitatingly and enthusiastically

placed himself and his people at the disposalof Serbia and won glorious victories, in conse-

quence of which his territories were considerably

enlarged. After the Balkan War, King Nikola

surely looked forward to a time of peace and

prosperity. But his hopes were doomed to

disappointment, for recent events have called

him to another and more important task.

CHAPTER VIIL

THE SOUTHERN SLAVS OF THE DUAL MONARCHY.

I, A Homogeneous People A Militant Past TheBogumili National Bondage NapoleonIllyrism Agreement with Hungary Count

Khuen-Hedervary.1 1 . The greatest representative of the Southern Slavs

Strossmayer's generosity and courage Fall of

Count Khuen-Hedervary Death of Strossmayer.III. False Dawn Conference of Fiume Ban Paul

Rauch Monster Trial in Zagreb The FriedjungCase Cuvaj Frano Supilo.

IV. Dalmatia, Istria, Carniola The Italian ElementBosnia-Hercegovina Conclusion.

I.

THE whole south of the Dual Monarchy is in-

habited by Slavs. The Kingdoms of Croatia,

Slavonia, and Dalmatia, with the Duchy of

Carniola, Istria, and Bosnia-Hercegovina these,

comprising a population of about seven millions,

belong almost exclusively to one race. Whereasin all other countries of the Monarchy (especiallyin Hungary and Bohemia) the different races are

represented in varying percentages, the non-Slav

population in Croatia, Slavonia, Bosnia and

Hercegovina amounts only to about 5$ per cent.,

13*

The Southern Slavs 139

in Carniola and Istria to 4 per cent., and in

Dalmatia only to 2 per cent. The considerable

number of Croats and Slovenes (750,000) livingin Southern Hungary (in Torontal, Bacs-Bodrogand Temes) must be added to the above-mentioned

seven millions.

Ethnologically speaking, the inhabitants of all

these countries form one people, and are a brother

nation to the Serbs in the Kingdoms of Serbia and

Montenegro. Their language, customs, historical

past and achievements in art, science and litera-

ture, are identical. The sole difference between

them is that the Croats and Slovenes are Catholics.,

while part of the inhabitants of Bosnia are

Mohammedans. Those confessing the Serbo-

Orthodox faith (more than a third of the popu-

lation) also own to the national name and call

themselves Serbs. This compact and homo-

geneous national body would certainly have

become a most important factor in the Monarchyhad they not been cut in two by administrative

policy. Here as elsewhere throughout all her

dominions Austria has applied her principle of

dividing and dismembering, and the Southern

Slav provinces were shared between two spheresof power. Croatia and Slavonia were allotted to

the Hungarian; Carniola, Dalmatia and Istria

to the Austrian sphere, and a mixed Austrian

and Hungarian administration was introduced

in Bosnia and Hercegovina. This system madea unanimous political rally of the Southern Slavs

140 The Southern Slavs of the

quite impossible, and provided German and

Magyar propaganda with a more manageable field

of operations. In both spheres unremittingefforts were devoted to the task of eliminatingthe Southern Slav element, stifling Slav thought,and transforming the Slavs into slaves. But the

Southern Slav is endowed with unusual tenacity ;

the most zealous efforts on the part of the Govern-

ment were frustrated by his dogged resistance,

and they merely defeated their own ends. German"kultur

" and Magyar lack of culture were held

in equal abomination by the Slav nations uponwhom they were to be inflicted, and the ruth-

less spoliation to which they were likewise sub-

jected engendered a deep-seated animosity. TheNorthern Slavs, who possess more practical

business capacity than the Southern, did not

allow themselves to be economically strangled,

and even contrived to hold their own in this

respect ; whereas the Southern Slavs, being mainlyan agricultural people, found themselves the

helpless victims of Austrian and Hungarian

rapacity. Dalmatia, one of the loveliest spots in

Europe, has for the last century known no

privilege except that of paying taxes, and Austria's

mal-administration of that country has become

proverbial. Croatia and Slavonia fare little

better. They have to pay 56 per cent, of their

revenues to Hungary. This tax figures under

the head of"contributions to mutual interests,"

chiefly represented by the railways and the postal

Dual Monarchy 141

system. The net annual income from these

two sources amounts to 250 million Kr., but

of this Croatia never receives a penny ! Thenet profit all goes to Hungary who brazenly

employs it to subvention the Magyar propa-

ganda in Croatia. The condition of Carniola

and Istria is almost as deplorable as that of

Dalmatia, and in Bosnia and Hercegovina the

Austro-Hungarian Government has for thirty-five

years built villages"

after the pattern of Potem-

kin," for the edification of foreign journalists,

while the people have been left to starve, or

sink into poverty and ignorance. The numerous

foreign tourists who have travelled in these

beautiful countries have seen nothing of Austria's" work of civilization," as they are kept to the

beaten tracks specially prepared for them, and

they only see the country like a carefully staged

panorama on the films of the Royal and ImperialState Cinematograph ! But had these travellers

caught a glimpse of the abject misery of the

people, their pleasure in these beautiful countries

would have been spoilt, and they would have

better understood why the inhabitants are rebel-

ling against the"blessing

"of Austro-Hungarian

rule.

It is much easier to understand why the political

horizon in the Southern Slav corner of Europe is

always clouded if one is given a clearer view of

the Chartered rights, as opposed to the actual

position, held by the Southern Slavs in the


Monarchy ; but this view is not usually obtained

through the official channels of Vienna and

Budapest. According to these, all ancient charters

of liberty are so many"scraps of paper/' and

the actual law merely the right of the strongest.

The Hapsburgs did not come as victors with the

rights of a conqueror to the Southern Slav prov-inces. They became rulers of these countries in

virtue of voluntary treaties, and they themselves

issued manifestos and bulls, in which the integrityand independence of the Southern Slav countries

are incontestably guaranteed. Centuries ago, while

the Hapsburg dynasty was endangered by constant

wars, and especially during the Turkish invasion,

these guarantees were faithfully observed. Butwith the altered conditions of affairs the Southern

Slavs had to wage a bitter struggle for their

rights.

Of all this group Croatia-Slavonia alone still

retains the slightest degree of autonomy, while

the countries belonging to Austria have been

deprived of every vestige of self-government,and only appear to be distinct dominions in the

State by their mock Landtags, whose decisions

are almost invariably disregarded. Croatia-

Slavonia, which belongs to Hungary, has to this

day at least theoretically maintained her political

independence. Croatia was once more guaranteedthis independence by the agreement between

herself and Hungary in 1868. When the Haps-burg Empire was reconstructed in 1867 the

Dual Monarchy 143

constitutional independence of Croatia could not

be set aside, especially as this reconstruction

was founded on the Pragmatic Sanction, which

provided for the separate constitutional indepen-dence of Croatia under guarantee of the RoyalOath. Moreover, the events of the revolution

of 1848 were still too fresh in the memoriesof the Hungarian statesmen who had laboured

for the establishment of Hungary's State Con-

stitution from 1861 till 1867, and in their dealingswith Croatia they did not dare to repeat the

mistakes they had made in 1847 and 1848.

Francis Deak, the chief of these statesmen, knew

very well that the catastrophe that overtook

Hungary in 1848 would never have been so

great, if the Croatian national forces had foughtside by side with Hungary. Thus it was his

wish to conclude a lasting peace with Croatia

on a just basis. Under Deak's influence, andwith the co-operation of Croatia's leading repre-

sentatives, an agreement was concluded which

assured Croatia the position of a State enjoying

equal rights with Hungary, with complete self-

government as regards her internal affairs, a

separate legislative parliament, and her own

army ; only the railways and the postal andfinancial systems were to be under mutual

control, and Croatia was guaranteed a propor-tionate share of the revenues from these sources.

The Croatian tongue was to be the official lan-

guage in the Landwehr, and in all courts of law,


whether joint or autonomous. The importantCroatian seaport Fiume was declared a

"corpus

separatum adnexse rex" and thus constituted

a joint open port. I shall presently show how

Hungary kept her side of the bargain.

A Southern Slav patriot has said that no

greater misfortune has befallen the Southern

Slavs, than to pass under the dominion of civi-

lized Austria. Had they been obliged to share the

fate of their brothers, the Serbs and Bulgarians,

they would certainly have tasted all the miseryof the Turkish yoke, but to-day they would be

free, as an independent State with a right to

their own national and intellectual development.The one thing Turkey has left untouched in the

Serbs and Bulgars the heart of the peopleis the very thing that Austria has sought to

destroy in her Southern Slav subjects. Turkish

captivity has steeled the hearts of the Slavs she

oppressed, but Austrian captivity has cankered

them and made them effete.

In many respects this pessimistic view is

justified. The struggle of the Southern Slavs for

national life has passed through many phases,and has exhausted itself in many more. For

centuries the Southern Slav stood under the

protection of" Heaven militant," and his motto

was "For Faith and Freedom/' for with him faith

was always first. All his culture consisted in

Dual Monarchy 145

imaging the Christ as the"Otac i voyskovodya

illyrskyh Kralyeva"

(Father and leader of the

armies of the Kings of Illyria). The Holy Cross

was transformed into a standard of war, and his

enthusiasm for this false ideal led him so far

astray, that the baptized arch-enemy was nearer

to him than his own unbaptized brother, andthe Church dearer to him than his country.But these traits do not originate in the character

of the Southern Slav. He was educated into themand impregnated with them from without, and

always by his greatest enemies, the Germans or

the Turks. The Germans made a national

mission of the Crusades, and the Turks usuallywent to war on religious grounds and called their

armies the Hosts of the Prophet. Following the

example of the Turks, and imitating the Germansin their appropriation of the Deity, Slav Chris-

tianity was infected by the fanaticism of the

Church of Rome, and became synonymous with

militancy and the spirit of the condottieri. Theheart of the nation grew vitiated, and the Illyrians

callously neglected their lovely land, which oughtto have been a Garden of Eden. And those whowere so liberal with their promises of Heavenand constantly cried,

"Thy Kingdom is not of

this world !

"were well pleased that these things

should be so, for they coveted the lost Empireof the Southern Slavs for an earthly paradise of

their own.

Unfortunately this dark page in the history of

14:6 The Southern Slavs of the

Southern Slavdom followed directly upon one

of the most brilliant periods in the intellectual

development of Southern Slav culture. It wasa period when the national culture of the Southern

Slavs put forth some of its most vigorous, fairest

and sanest blossoms the time of the Bogumili

(" beloved of God ") whose work of enlightenment

spread from Bulgaria over the whole of the Slav

South. The Bogumili were strongly opposed to

the poetic glorification of the Crusades, because

they grasped the fact that the extolling of such

an ideal can never open the mind to heretic culture

the culture based on free choice according to

conscience which was eventually to undermine

the foundations of the sacrosanct Roman Empireand lay the first solid foundations of true culture.

The Bogumili taught that true culture is not

spread by crusades, but springs from Christian,

human contemplation. They deprecated personal

worship, and replaced it by a worship of ideals, of

spirit, and of thought. Wyclif, Huss and Luther

are always quoted as the foremost apostles of the

heretical culture. But in the Hungarian Crusaders

the Bogumili found bitter enemies. Bogumilist

activity in Bosnia and Croatia was stifled in blood,

and the people, who were beginning to protest

against the lying cult of Csesarism wedded to

Papistry, were simply butchered in the name of

the Cross. The blood-baths on the fields of

Bosnia filled the people with consternation, but

could not stifle Bogumilism. True, its progress

Dual Monarchy 147

was checked in the Southern Slav region, but it

secretly penetrated westward, whence the Patar-

enes in Italy and the Catharists, Albigenses andWaldenses in France spread it all over the world.

It is interesting to note that at the very momentwhen Bogumilist culture was destroyed amongthe Slavs themselves, they bequeathed this very

Bogumilism to the rest of Europe the first and

only gift from the Southern Slav race as a whole

to the spiritual life of Europe. It was the true"antemurale Christianitatis

"the uutwurks uf

Christianity purified from Byzantine and Romanelements. What they gave was perhaps not so

very much their own as the vigour with which

they transplanted the ideal and the doctrine

of a spiritual life, from the mountains of Asia

Minor to the West. Theirs was the work of

emissaries and outposts.To resume, during the time of Turkish power,

the Southern Slavs had ceased to be the"out-

works of Christianity"and had become merely

a soldatesca in the service of the foreigner, fighting

indifferently for Cross or Crescent. It wasa terrible time of national abasement, more

especially because it followed so closely upon the

great era of spiritual exaltation. The gradualloss of Southern Slav independence likewise

dates from this period, and from that time until

quite recently they were unable, as a race, to

produce a truly Southern Slav culture. Onlythose among them who travelled westward,


where Bogumilism continued to thrive and

flourish, found the way of true culture. Amongthese exceptions were Marko Marulid (Marcus

Manilas), a Spalatine noble, whose works were

translated from the Latin into all the principal

European tongues, and Flavius Illyricus, whom,after Luther, Germany considers one of her

greatest teachers, In their souls these menwere merely Bogumili and nothing more. With

them we may also class John of Ragusa, wholed the whole Council of Bale against the Popeand proposed to negotiate calmly and justlywith the Hussites and Manichees. Just such aman was Bishop Strossmayer in our own day,a man of whom I shall presently speak further.

Their liberation from the Crescent put an endto the period of religious militancy among the

Southern Slav people. The warlike element is

perhaps of great historic moment. It certainlyfended the Southern Slavs over the abysses of

Turkish barbarism to freedom in the Christian

sense of the word, but by no means to national

freedom. When the Turkish invasion was rolled

back and the everlasting wars were over, the

symbol of the sword was exchanged for that

of the plough, and God as God was no longeradorned with weapons, but imaged in a nobler

spirit as the highest conception of peace. And,as the people accustomed themselves to peace,and once more came in touch with the soil, a

new spirit grew up within them, or rather it

Dual Monarchy 149

was the re-awakening of an old spirit that for

a while had been silenced by the clamour of

weapons the spirit of love for the homestead

and the community. Nationalism still slum-

bered but, like a guardian angel, the national

tongue watched over its slumbers. Throughstorm and stress, in spite of travels and inter-

course with foreign-speaking mercenaries, this

language has remained pure and unalloyed. This

was the seed of the future from which sprangthe great awakening ; for so long as a people

preserves its language it possesses a Nationality.

Liberty of conscience, and the transformation

of the warrior into a husbandman, were also the

beginning of a change in the souls of the people,

which, while groping its way back towards its

own essential beauty, began to feel the hidden

wounds within, and strove to rid itself of the

canker. The old beautiful mode of life, the

patriarchal family feeling and the bond of union

in the community were restored, and the gentle,

plaintive melodies echoed once more in farm

and field. And this regeneration grew and

expanded until it brought the revelation of

national union, patriotism, and finally the love

for all that belongs to the Slav race.

The Napoleonic era found this people already

fully developed. They had found their soul

and knew what they wanted. Napoleon, who


treated most of the people he conquered without

much consideration, was filled with unusual

admiration for the Southern Slavs that cameunder his rule. By the peace of Schonbrunn

(October I4th, 1809) he acquired Triest, Gorz,

Carniola, part of Carinthia, Austrian Istria, the

Croat seaboard with Fiume, and all Croatia

south of the Save. Napoleon united all these

countries wth French Istria, Dalmatia and

Ragusa into one"Province of Illyria," and thus

for one short moment fulfilled the dearest wish

of all the Southern Slavs. Illyria was organizedas one military province divided into six civil

provinces ; Marechal Marmont was appointedGovernor and in the name of Napoleon carried

out sweeping reforms throughout the country.Trade and industry were signally improved andthe people were granted far-reaching national

liberties. The use of German as the official

language was abolished in the schools and law

courts and Serbo-Croatian introduced in its

place. Special attention was devoted to road-

making and education, and the Croats were

permitted to edit their own newspapers in the

Croat tongue, which would have been considered

high treason under Austria. Although the

French rule was only of short duration (till

1817) it did more for the Southern Slav lands in

hree years than Austria did during the century that

followed. But the main thing was that this rule

aroused the national thought so effectively

Dual Monarchy 151

that henceforth it ceased to be a dream andbecame a factor to be reckoned with. Fromthat time dates the unremitting struggle againstGermanism and Magyarism, and the agitationfor a national union of all the Southern Slavs.

The first-fruits of the complete national regenera-tion were seen in the great movement started

in 1835 and known by the name of Illyrism.

Illyrism began with a small group of patriotsand poets whose leaders were Ljndevit Gaj andCount Janko Draskovic. They founded news-

papers and periodicals, published patriotic books

and poems, and roused the national enthusiasm

of the people to the highest pitch. In this mission

they successfully sought help and advice from

other Slavs, especially the Csechs and Serbs ;

they were also the first to come into touch with

Russia. Austria-Hungary tried sharply to repressthis movement, and for the first time found herself

confronted by a united nation bent on going its

own way. The Illyrist movement cannot point to

any positive political results, but it laid a founda-

tion for future political and national activity anddid an incalculable amount of pioneer workwhich would have been most difficult to carryout under the conditions that followed. In

1843 the name of Illyrism was prohibited by an

Imperial edict, and it was hoped by the Austrian

authorities that this would be the end of the

patriotic movement. But their labour was lost.

In fact, under the spur of persecution the patriots


passed from their idealistic literary campaign to

more tangible activities. By the prohibition of

the Illyrian name the motto of the poetic pro-

paganda was lost, and it became the duty of the

patriots to lead their politics into less senti-

mental paths, and enter upon a campaign of cold

reasoning in place of poetic sentiment. This

was all the more necessary as the national cause

was greatly endangered by several new regula-

tions. Following closely upon the prohibitionof the Illyrian name came an order for the

introduction of the Magyar tongue in the Croatian

law courts. When the Croatian counties pro-tested in Vienna that Croatia was privileged

to choose her own official language, and that

no one had the right to interfere with this pri-

vilege, they met with a brusque rebuff. Upto now the Government had hardly dared to

attempt the Magyarization of Croatia, but now

they decided to enforce it in spite of the newly-awakened national consciousness. The Croats

now realized that it was a case of war to the knife.

The Hungarian Government proclaimed that

all countries and nationalities subjected to the

crown of St. Stephen must be made one people,one state, and be taught to speak one language

in short, they were to become Magyars. Theywere determined to break the national resist-

ance of the Serbs and Croats by force, or pre-

ferably, by corruption. In this enterprise

Hungary found an able assistant in Ban Haller.

Dual Monarchy 153

A "Magyar party

" was organized in Croatia

with a view to reconciling the people to Magyardemands, but, unfortunately, it consisted chieflyof adventurers and social riff-raff ; the work of

Magyarization made no progress, but onlyfurther incensed the Southern Slavs. One of the

consequences of this hatred was that in 1848 the

Croats and Serbs enthusiastically followed Ban,

Jellacid in the campaign against Hungary.

After the conclusion of peace between Hungaryand the Crown the Croats were rewarded in a

truly Austrian fashion for their assistance in

putting down the rebellion : once more they were

handed over to the tender mercies of Hungary.This ingratitude roused a perfect tempest of

indignation, but at the same time the Southern

Slavs finally learnt their lesson. Henceforth

they would look for help to no one but themselves,

and they resolved that the coming struggle mustbe fought to a finish. The Southern Slav leaders

knew very well that nothing could be done byrevolutionary propaganda, but that their first

task must be to establish a footing from which

they could conduct a constitutional campaign.

They formed a strong Nationalist party in

Croatia, which co-operated with the Dalmatine

and Slovene parties, laid down their programmeon a broad national basis, and organized a cam-

paign of passive resistance among the people.


Of course the success of these labours was largelydue to the fact that Hungary was weakened bythe revolution and inclined to be somewhatless aggressive. Croatia, on the other hand, was

fresh, strong, and self-reliant. Of course the

results were not apparent at once, but the agree-ment of 1867 was a consequence of Croatia's

united stand. This agreement by no meanssatisfied all the aspirations of the Southern Slavs,

but it gave them the required footing against

Magyar oligarchy. Upon the conclusion of the

agreement, Croatia received her first constitu-

tional Ban, who was henceforth to be responsibleto the Croatian Parliament. Unfortunately the

King made this appointment upon the recom-

mendation of Hungary, who saw to it that the

first Ban, Baron Levin Rauch, should be a

mere exponent of the Hungarian Government.

Contempt of the constitution, and corruption,were the first-fruits of the agreement under

Hungarian influence in Croatia, with the result

that all Croatian patriots including those whohad helped to conclude the agreement passedover to the Opposition. This Opposition workedon rigidly constitutional lines, and, as moreradical parties arose, they formed the constitu-

tionally correct, though barren, Croatian Con-

stitutional party. Space forbids me to enumerate

all the means by which the first"constitutional

Ban "strove to carry out his orders from Buda-

pest By suddenly imposing a new election law

Dual Monarchy 155

he secured a large and obsequious majority in

Parliament, which effectively barred the co-

operation of the Opposition in national affairs.

But the Opposition attacked the Governmentoutside Parliament, through the Jpress. Whenthis systematic corruption and disregard of the

agreement had gone too far, M. Mrazovid, the

leader of the Opposition, published a sensational

indictment against Baron Rauch, accusing himof underhand dealings. Baron Rauch took pro-

ceedings against Mrazovid for libel in the military

courts, but Mrazovid substantiated his accusations

and was acquitted. Baron Rauch resigned, andthe Nationalist Party scored its first victory.

He was succeeded by Ban Bedekovid, another

Hungarian nominee, who was, however, unable

to prevent a triumphant Nationalist victory in

the election of 1871. The Hungarians asserted

that this victory had been subsidized by funds

from Russia and Serbia, and this accusation

contains the substance of all subsequent chargesof high treason. The Opposition replied with a

manifesto, in which they clearly set forth the

gravity of the numerous infringements of the

constitution. Because of this manifesto, the

Government wished to take proceedings againstthe leaders of the Opposition for high treason, but

they refrained through fear of offending European

public opinion. At this time the Constitutionalist

Kvaternik, a good patriot but wholly unpractical,started an armed rebellion among the peasantry


in the Rakovica district. It was put down bya strong military force, and Kvaternik lost his

life. The October manifesto, in conjunction with

the rebellion in Rakovica, afforded Andrassy

(then Minister of Foreign Affairs) a pretext for

opposing every form of Slavophile policy and

ascribing both the manifesto and the rebellion

to Russian influence.

The policy then inaugurated remains in force

to this day. Brutal Imperialism is rampantin Croatia, and the Agreement has become a

mere"scrap of paper/' But oppression begets

opposition, and during these critical times the

Southern Slavs found not only their greatest

tyrant but their greatest patriot. From 1883to 1903 Count Carl Khuen-Hedervary was Ban of

Croatia, and the twenty years of his administra-

tion have been the blackest period as regards

political, enonomic and personal thraldom.

Countless Magyar schools were scattered through-out the country to promote the denationalization

of the people ; espionage and Secret Police

flourished as in Darkest Russia. The archives of

the State, with the Constitutional Charters of

Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, were incorporatedwith the State archives in Budapest, and, last

but not least, the Agreement itself was falsified bythe pasting of a slip of paper over the specification

of Flume as a"Corpus separatum adnexce rex

"

converting it into a"corpus separatum adnexae

Hungariam," whereby this important Croatian

Dual Monarchy 157

seaport became exclusively Hungarian property.But this same period also witnessed the labours

of the greatest of all Southern Slavs, the bene-

factor and father of his people, Bishop Josip

Juraj Strossmayer.

II.

Bishop Strossmayer (1815-1905) was the most

generous benefactor of his people, their greatest

patron of science and art, and the very incar-

nation of their political programme. He wasthe first to break down the local artificial barriers

between Serb and Croat the first to preach the

gospel of united Yougoslavia. Labouring in a

period when all national effort was suppressed in

every possible way, when Slav sympathies were

accounted high treason, he rose to a position of

unassailable eminence, which enabled him to

set the mark of his powerful personality like a

leitmotive on the whole nineteenth-century historyof the Southern Slavs. Born of peasant stock

and, like all gifted Slav boys, destined for the

church, Strossmayer began his patriotic activity,

while he was still a student and youthful priest,

by joining the Illyrist movement. His excep-tional abilities were soon noticed in connection

with the national movement, and Vienna and

Budapest awoke to the dangerous possibilities

of his personality. Determined to put an end


to his patriotic labours they appointed him

court chaplain, and trusted that the society of

the court with all its splendour and gaiety would

dazzle the handsome young priest, and wile

him away from the service of his country. But

Strossmayer made a most unexpected and highly

diplomatic use of his position. He brilliantly

succeeded in deceiving his surroundings as to

his sympathies, and when barely over thirty he

secured his appointment to the Episcopal See

of Djakovo. Hereby he also became Vladika

of Bosnia and Syrmia, and shortly afterwards

was created governor of the Virovitica district.

At this point Strossmayer's life-work for his

people began in earnest. Holding a most dis-

tinguished position, and with the vast revenues

of his bishopric at his disposal, he opened the

flood-gates of his activities, and Vienna and

Budapest saw with horror and amazement the

mistake they had made. Strossmayer assumedthe leadership of the Nationalist party ;

and in

Parliament, where he took his seat in the double

capacity of bishop and elected deputy, he showedhimself a brilliant orator, a subtle politician,

and an astute diplomat. He was the incarnation

cf a keen, but determined and wise Opposition.He also became an intellectual leader of his

people and accomplished more than anyone else

before him. He founded the Southern Slav

Academy of Science and Art, which in the veryterms of its foundation embodies the intellectual

Dual Monarchy 159

unity of the Southern Slavs. He also founded

the Croatian University ; and, being a great art

connoisseur, he spent years in accumulating an

exceedingly fine private collection, which he

presented to the nation. He built the Cathedral

at Djakovo, and at his own expense sent hundreds

of young Serbs and Croats to foreign art schools

and universities. Every intellectual enterprise,

whether literary, artistic or scientific, found in

him a munificent patron. His entire income

was devoted to the welfare of the nation, and the

sums that Strossmayer spent in adding to the

greatness and fame of his country amountedto many millions during the long years of his

office. But his dearest wish was the realization

of the Yougoslav ideal, the breaking down of all

local barriers between Serbs and Croats, and the

creation of a united people. With this end in

view, and in spite of his position in the RomanCatholic Church, Strossmayer went so far as to

advocate that the Serbian Graeco-Orthodox,

and the Croatian Catholic, Churches should unite

and become one National Church. He knewthat the future of his people could never be

realized within the confines of the Monarchy,but that it must be identified with that of all

the other Southern Slav nations, and founded

upon a purely Slav basis. Strossmayer did not

confine his efforts to winning converts amonghis own people for this idea. He knew too well,

that at the decisive moment the nation would


require strong support from without, and, at the

risk of being accused of high treason, he entered

into friendly relations with Russia, which should

bring the big and powerful brother of the Northnearer to his down -trodden little brother in

the South. He succeeded in finding influential

friends in Russia as in other countries, and his

nation is still proud of his friendship with the Tsar

Alexander III., Leo XIII. , Gladstone, Crispi andGambetta. Before Strossmayer entered the lists

no one in Europe had taken the slightest interest

in the Southern Slav problem. The slippery

diplomacy of Vienna which is only equalled in

duplicity by that of Turkey had for centuries

successfully diverted the attention of Europefrom the Southern Slav peoples in the Monarchy,and the general assumption about them was that

they were a horde of uncivilized semi-barbarians,

fed by Austria at great sacrifice and treated

by her with the utmost forbearance. The

spectacles through which Europe viewed these

nations were made in Vienna and Budapest, andno one took the trouble to bring an independent,unbiassed mind to bear upon the problem.

Many Southern Slav patriots made desperate

though vain efforts to bring even a grain of truth

before the European public ;a Jesuit Vienna

and a Judaized Budapest were too strong for

them. The world thought more of the colourless

anational Austrian culture, and the borrowed

pseudo-culture of the Magyars than of the

Dual Monarchy 161

culture of the Slavs, which for a thousand yearshas been the spontaneous expression of their

national individuality, with a literature worthyof the lyre of Homer. Not only Austro-Hun-

garian politics, but the age itself was unpro-

pitious to the Southern Slavs. They possessedno importance for the European balance of power ;

and it is one of the bitterest ironies of history,that for a very long time the Southern Slavs

fought less for their own advantage than for the

interests of Europe. For, even as the Southern

Slavs were for centuries the bulwark against the

tide of Ottoman invasion from the East, they

subsequently became an equally strong bulwark

against the rising tide of Germanism towards the

East. With every fibre of their being they keptthe gate of the East fast closed against either

foe not only for themselves, but in the interests

of European civilization.

Strossmayer was thefirst who succeeded in

re-awakening the interest of Europe in this

struggle, and, even if his efforts were not crownedwith immediate practical success, he at least con-

trived to cast a doubt on the complacent assur-

ances of Vienna and Budapest. Strossmayer wasa man with a tremendous personality, and his

word was invariably accepted. He was also past-master in the art of not saying too much thus

avoiding the appearance of exaggeration. Evenin his world-famous speech in the Council of the

Vatican (1871, under Pius IX.), when he spoke


in Latin for sixteen consecutive hours against the

doctrine of Papal infallibility, he left some things

unsaid, for he was interrupted in"the midst of

his speech"by the Archbishop of Paris, who em-

braced and kissed him, and assured him that whathe had already said was amply convincing.

Strossmayer's activity was pursued with ruth-

less enmity in Vienna and Budapest, and, even

as he was the best-loved man among his own

people, he was the best-hated enemy of the

Germans and the Magyars. They tried by every

possible means to minimize his power, and

agitated in the Vatican for his recall to Rome.But Leo XIII. was not only the personal friend

of Strossmayer, but also the friend of the Slavs,

and Viennese diplomacy failed in its object.

Then followed disgraceful intrigues, and en-

deavours to represent Strossmayer as a traitor.

Among other accusations, it was alleged that he

had exchanged incriminating telegrams with the

Tsar, in which he was said to have advocated

the detachment of the Southern Slav provincesfrom Austria. Strossmayer's reply to these in-

sinuations was truly characteristic. Several yearsafter this alleged exchange of telegrams the

Emperor Francis Joseph came to Croatia for

the grand manoeuvres, and Bishop Strossmayerwas one of the guests at the great receptionin Belovar, where the Emperor had his head-

quarters. The Emperor took the opportunityto sharply reprimand the Bishop for his conduct.

j Dual Monarchy 163

Strossmayer retorted with equal sharpness"My conscience is clear, your Majesty/' then

brusquely turned his back and ostentatiouslywalked out of the hall. Circumstances made it

impossible to celebrate Strossmayer's courage,but the people rejoiced in this new proof that

their champion feared no risk when it was a

case of defending the freedom and interests of his

people.

Strossmayer was no dreamer, but above all

things a practical statesman. He knew that

whoever hopes to win a final success must first

carefully prepare the ground. Any attempt to

detach the Southern Slav Kingdoms from the

Monarchy by force would have been unadvisable,

and moreover, a dangerous and futile enterprise.

Therefore, the political party of which Strossmayerwas the leader made it their business to see

that the stipulations of the Agreement were

scrupulously observed, knowing well that a strict

observance of the Agreement if only for a time

would give the nation the much-needed chance

of economic improvement, and thus pave the

way to future independence. In this policy

they were supported by the entire nation, who

by their very unanimity proved their political

fitness. Twenty years' martyrdom under Count

Khuen-Hedervary had not enervated the nation ;

on the contrary, they grew strong through

adversity ; and, with their eyes fixed upon their

spiritual guide and protector, they steadfastly


went forward towards their goal. Khuen-Heder-

vary's bribery, intimidation, everlasting trials for

high treason, prison and the gallows, all these had

only incited them to further resistance. When,bowed with age, Strossmayer finally had to

resign his active part in politics, we saw the

people whom his spirit had inspired suddenly turn

upon their oppressors. In 1903, the whole countryrose in rebellion as one man, and Khuen-Heder-

vary's power was broken. Even he had to

admit that his twenty years' rule of ruthless

oppression had merely defeated its own object,

that it had united the people whom he had soughtto weaken, and strengthened that which he had

hoped to destroy.

Strossmayer lived to see Khuen's resignation,

and his last days were cheered by a gleam of

light which alas ! proved only illusory shed

upon the path of his country ; yet as he closed

his eyes for ever, he realized that he had not givenhis all to Croatia in vain, and that the hour was not

far off when his ideals should become realities.

He died in 1905, but his spirit lives on in his

people and his memory shines among them like

a guiding star to point the way.

III.

The popular rising in 1903 opened new channels

for the national struggle ;it was also the prelude

Dual Monarchy 165

to the hardest and bitterest time that theSouthern Slav people have yet been called uponto face. Khuen's successor was Count Theodore

Pejacsevic, a Croatian noble, who was no greatstatesman, but at least a good administrativeofficial. He gave the distracted country abrief time of quiet, equitable government, anddeserves great credit for abolishing Khuen's

system of corruption. Meantime the stronglyNationalist parties in Croatia had formed a

block, the Serbo-Croat Coalition, and Count

Pejacsevic found it impossible to raise a pro-

Hungarian majority in Parliament. Shortlyafterwards the Hungarian Opposition also rose

into conflict with the Crown, and the situation

became involved both in Hungary and Croatia.

The Hungarian Opposition applied to the Serbo-

Croat Coalition for support in their struggle and

promised that, if their party were returned, theywould grant all Croatia's demands as embodiedin the Agreement of 1867. Negotiations were

carried on by Francis Kossuth and Geza Polonyion behalf of Hungary, and by Frano Supilo as

delegate of the Serbo-Croat Coalition. These

negotiations resulted in the Resolution of Flume

(October, 1905), which stipulated for the political

co-operation between the Hungarian and Serbo-

Croat parties, and secured considerable advan-

tages to Croatia in the event of success. TheResolution of Fiume was in every way a master-

piece of policy and diplomacy, and was in all


its details the achievement of Frano Supilo, whowas the popular leader in Croatia at the time.

In the election of 1905 the Coalition won a

brilliant victory. Not one Government candi-

date was returned, and the small Opposition

consisted of partizans of Ante Starcevic's one-time

idealist, patriotic constitutionalist party, which

however, since his death, had passed under the

control of Jewish solicitors, and was so com-

mitted to a purely Austrian Christian-Socialist

finli.ry As the Hungarian Opposition had like-

wise scored a victory, the Croatian Cabinet was

composed of representatives of the Serbo-Croat

Coalition, with Count Pejacsevic retained in

office as"ut conditio sine qua non." Croatia

enjoyed a short respite and began to look forward

to better times. But her hopes were once moredoomed to disappointment. The perfidious

Magyars once more failed to keep their word.

So long as they needed the Serbs and Croats theywere full of love and brotherliness, but when

they had gained their point, they discarded the

mask of false friendship. Francis Kossuth,

having become Handelsminister (Minister of

Trade) in the Hungarian Cabinet in 1907, intro-

duced a bill on the control of the Railways whichwas the most flagrant and outrageous infringementof the Agreement as yet attempted. It providedthat thenceforth the language used on the

railway-system, even in Croatian territory, wasto be Hungarian, although it had been specially

Dual Monarchy 167

stipulated in the Agreement which stands in

the place of a fundamental constitutional lawthat Croatian was to be official tongue in all

joint offices within Croatian territory. TheSerbo-Croat Coalition, which is represented byforty members in the Hungarian Parliament, rose

in wrath against the Bill, and declared war to the

knife upon the Hungarian Government. Theconflict in the Hungarian Parliament is knownall over Europe. The Croats and Serbs pursueda policy of obstruction, which fairly paralyzedthe House and made parliamentary discussion

of the Railway Bill quite impossible. To getit passed Kossuth so worded his Bill that it wascontained in one paragraph, empowering the

Government to deal with the Pragmatic (ad-

ministrative business of the country) at their

discretion as part of the Order of the Day.The rupture with Hungary was now complete.

The Serbo-Croat Coalition transferred the conflict

to Croatia, and the nation began to agitate for

detachment from Hungary. The Parliament

was dissolved, but the Coalition was againvictorious in the election. On the resignationof the Croatian Government, Alexander v.

Rakodczay was appointed Ban, but failing to

raise a party friendly to the Government he was

forced to resign his office in two months. Thenext Ban to be appointed was Baron Paul Rauch,who boldly entered his capital town of Zagreb,but was received with hostile demonstrations and


showers of stones. It speaks well for his couragethat he was not affected by this reception, andeven introduced himself to the Parliament with

great pomp. His reception in Parliament wasone great demonstration of hostility, so that he

could not even read the Royal message. Hehad to fly the building with his Ministerial staff,

and Parliament was officially dissolved the same

day. Baron Rauch formed a Government partyof venal upstarts and discredited characters,

secured the support of the now thoroughlydemoralized

"constitutionalist party/' and

ordered a new election. Everything was doneto intimidate the electorate, with the result that

not one of Rauch's candidates was returned.

This Parliament was dissolved without even

having been summoned, and Rauch embarkedon a reign of terror which can only be comparedto that of Germany in the Cameroons. Heorganized the Jewish-constitutionalist party into

bands which went by the name of the"Black

Hand." Their motto was "For the Emperor,

and for Croatia," and their weapons were murderand assault, which they were allowed to use with

impunity against their opponents. At the sametime an organized judicial persecution of the

Serbs was set on foot. But even this tyrannycould not break the national resistance.

At this juncture a new contingency arose.

The Monarchy was preparing to annex Bosnia

and Hercegovina, and a suitable pretext had to

Dual Monarchy 169

be found. The Government accordingly invented

the"

Greater Serbian agitation." The heroic

struggle of the Serbo-Croat Coalition was repre-sented as being the outcome of a Greater Serbian

agitation, and Baron Rauch was commissionedto unmask this

"widespread criminal con-

spiracy." In the summer of 1908, to the amaze-ment and consternation of the people, largenumbers of Serbs, chiefly priests, school-masters

and business men, were arrested, and the official

Press triumphantly announced that a horrible,

widespread and highly treasonable propagandahad been discovered ! The preliminary investi-

gations lasted a long time, and March 3rd, 1909,saw the opening of the proceedings against the"

traitors" who had conspired with Serbia for

the detachment of all the Slavonic South from

the Monarchy, The trial lasted till October 5th,

when all the accused parties received very heavysentences. Immediately afterwards the Austrian

historian Dr. Heinrich Friedjung stated in the

Viennese Neue Freie Presse, that the leaders of

the Serbo-Croat Coalition were also implicatedin this conspiracy, especially Frano Supilo,

Grga Tuskan and Bozidar Vinkovic, and that

his accusation was founded on documentaryevidence. Hereupon the whole Serbo-Croat

Coalition took proceedings against Dr. Friedjungfor libel. The result of this case, which was

fought in Vienna, caused a European sensation.

// was conclusively proved that all the documentaryi*


evidence against the Coalition, both in the Zagreband the Viennese trials, had been forged by order

of Baron Aehrenthal, the Minister for Foreign

Affairs, and Count Forgach, the Austrian Am-bassador in Belgrade. Friedjung himself con-

fessed as much in court. The consequenceof this unparalleled expose was, that the King-

Emperor had to rescind the sentences already

passed in the Zagreb trial.* Meantime, however,the desired object had been gained, and Bosnia-

Hercegovina was annexed contrary to the will

of all the Slavs.

But, with scandalous details incidental to

the annexation, Baron Ranch's mission had been

brilliantly fulfilled. Soon afterwards Kossuth's

perfidious Government was turned out andCroatia's old oppressor, Count Khuen Heder-

vary, became Premier. Khuen, however, was a

personal enemy of Rauch, and occasioned his

recall. In his place Nikolaus von Tomasic

was appointed Ban of Croatia a most eminent

and highly-respected Croatian scholar, but

politically a satellite of Khuen. He did his

best to restore order, and to this end negotiatedwith the Serbo-Croat Coalition. Frano Supilo

protested most emphatically against this. Hehad already had exhaustive experience of Magyarperfidy, and had no desire to see his people once

again walk into the trap. But the Coalition

* This trial has been described at length in Seton Watson'sadmirable book,

" The Southern Slav Question."

Dual Monarchy 171

was perhaps weary of the struggle perhaps

they still hoped for fair dealing, and accordinglyentered into a compact with Tomasic which

made peaceful government possible so long as

the rights of the nation were respected. Onthe strength of this compact several Govern-

ment candidates were returned at the next

election ;after which Tomasic promptly ignored

the Coalition and governed only with his

own party. Supilo's prophecy was fulfilled,

and the Coalition had once more to join the

Opposition. Tomasic was overthrown but the

Austro-Hungarian Government replied by sendingHerr von Cuvaj, the Terrorist Commissioner,

and suspending the Constitution. These were

the days of bitterest misery and unscrupulous

tyranny in Croatia. Cuvaj ruled with the knout,

and the knout only. Police espionage flourished,

and all personal, political and civil liberty

was set at naught. All this time the Balkan

War was raging, and woe to the Serb or

Croat who dared to rejoice at his brother's

victories. But, when the Balkan Alliance was

victorious, the Southern Slavs knew that from

henceforth they could rely on a measure of

support from their kinsmen. Vienna and

Budapest were equally perspicacious and realized

the advisability of changing their tactics.

Cuvaj was recalled and Count Stephen Tisza,

one of the most inveterate enemies of the Slavs,

sent Baron Skerlecz to Croatia with instructions


to conciliate the Croats. The effete Serbo-Croat

Coalition was once more cajoled, and, for the

third time, it entered into a disastrous compactwith Hungary. This time one of the conse-

quences was the expropriation of the Croatian

sea-board in favour of Hungary. Moreover,

the present crisis found the Coalition helplessly

committed to the Government.

But the people had stood firm. The dire

sufferings of recent years have begotten a newand healthy movement, which includes the

entire youth of Croatia. The younger generationhas lost faith in political parties, and begun to

go its own way along the path which leads

away from Hungary and away from Austria,

back to union with their scattered kindred.

Their aim is the establishment of a great, free

and independent Southern Slav State. At the

head of this younger generation stands a manof magnetic personality Frano Supilo.

IV,

The Southern Slavs in Dalmatia, Carniola and

Istria fared little better than their brothers in

Croatia and Slavonia. I have already alluded

to the economic neglect of Dalmatia. In

politics, Germanization was practised in muchthe same way as Magyarization in Croatia.

Dual Monarchy 173

Dalmatia unfortunately does not enjoy inde-

pendence, even on paper, and thus her oppressioncould wear a perfectly constitutional guise. TheDalmatian

"Sabor," like that of Istria and

Carniola, is an assembly quite at the mercy of

the viceroy for the time being, who would never

dream of convoking it, unless he had made quitesure that no inconvenient resolutions would be

passed. As a rule these"Sabors

"enjoy pro-

longed periods of rest, and the people are only

represented by their delegates in the Viennese

Reichstrat. There these delegates certainlymake a brave fight, but they are too few, andtheir voice is drowned by the huge German

majority. Because of this and also through the

fault of the Slovene Roman Catholic party,Carniola has become strongly Germanized,

especially as regards the administration of the

schools. But the Dalmatians and Istrians are

a sturdy, progressive people, Slav to the back-

bone, and all attempts at Germanizing themhave proved as futile as the beating of waves

upon the shore. Beside the German danger,this people also has the Italian danger to contend

with. For opportunist reasons the Austrian

Government has always favoured the Italian

element (4 per cent, in Istria and 2 per cent, in

Dalmatia) and granted them concessions, which

have given rise to the most absurd anomalies.

For instance, the election law in Istria is so

framed, that 96 per cent. Slovenes and Croats


send fewer delegates to Vienna than 4 per cent.

Italians. The same injustice prevails in the

Parish Council election law, but in spite of this

the Italians would never secure their majority,if special Government regulations did not compelall officials and State employees to vote Italian.

// to-day Italy is apparently able to claim a sphere

of interest in Istria, this is the outcome of a chance

state of affairs, arbitrarily created by the Austrian

Government. As an instance of this policy, I

will state that shortly before the outbreak of

the war the Government seriously contemplatedthe foundation of an Italian University for a

population of 700,000 souls, while strenuously

opposing the foundation of a Slovene Uni-

versity for 1,400,000 Slovenes and Croats

in Carniola and Istria. Of course this

policy made the Italians aggressive, and theycontinued to extend their sphere of interest

until it actually included the Quarnero Islands,

although these islands do not possess one single

Italian inhabitant, and these very islands are the

most sacred possession of the Southern Slavs.

THEY ARE THE ONLY SPOT IN SLAV TERRITORYWHERE THE OLD SLAV TONGUE IS STILL SPOKENBY THE PEOPLE. This fact is amply borne out

by publications of the Southern Slav Academy,and also of the Russian Academy, which sends

its scholars year by year to these islands to studythe language. In the province of Dalmatia the

populace have themselves dismissed the Italian

Dual Monarchy 175

question from the order of the day, and the local

government of Zadar (Zara) is the only posses-sion and a very problematical one at that

which the Italians might claim, and that onlybecause of the truly mediaeval election laws. For,

as soon as vote by ballot for the Parliamentaryelections was introduced in the Austrian Crown

lands, the Croatian candidate was returned by a

majority of 7,000 votes over his Italian colleague.The pro-Italian attitude of Austria was and

is as insincere as the rest of her policy. It

is simply dictated by the"

divide-el-impera"

principle, because an alliance between Slavs andItalians would have been fatal to the Government.

One nationality was played off against the

other, and the Italians proved willing tools in

the hands of Austria. The influence of Italian

culture, which has for centuries been received

with love and admiration by the Southern

Slavs, has created an Italian-speaking zone of

culture in the coast-lands of the Adriatic ; andthe Italians, assisted by the Austrian Govern-

ment, have made the most of this zone until

they have actually had the audacity to include

it in their sphere of national aspirations. ThusAustria created an enemy both for herself and

the Slav peoples, an enemy with whom the

Southern Slavs have never before had any real

quarrel. Antagonism led to bitter conflicts, andif the Slav population in Dalmatia and Istria

have begun to detest the Italian zone of culture


it has been purely in self-defence and for fear of

having to pay with their national existence

for the amity and admiration of centuries.

Nowadays, the Italians themselves admit that

Dalmatia and Istria are indigenously pure Slav

countries. Probably the present struggle has

also revealed to them the true value of Austria's

favours.

In Bosnia and Hercegovina, Austria pursuedthe same heartless policy. Out of the three

religions of one people she made three nation-

alities, and then fostered dissensions between

them. Her policy was especially bitter againstthe Serbs, who are in the majority and also the

more highly-educated element of the populationand therefore more able to give effective supportto the just claims of Serbia. Austria was not

in the least interested in the prosperity of the

country, and merely created an intolerable chaos

by her political intrigue in a land that had alreadysuffered beyond endurance. Her evidences of

civilization exhibited before Europe were pure

humbug, and the annexation of Bosnia-Herce-

govina one of the most flagrant acts of injustice

ever perpetrated on a nation.

If the present war is decided in favour of the

Allies and this is the prayer of all the Slavs

it will become necessary to settle the Southern

Slav problem once and for all. This can onlybe done satisfactorily by respecting the principleof nationality, and by a just delimitation of the

\

Dual Monarchy 177

various national zones. In disputed territories,

such as Istria or the Quarnero Islands, a refer-

endum ought to decide.

The Slavs have been tortured long enough.For centuries they have guarded Europeancivilization against the inroads of Ottoman Islam,which has always been synonymous with bigotry,barbarism and sloth, and should never be con-

founded with Arab Islam, or Hindu Islam, to

whom the whole world of science, art and

philosophy is eternally indebted. Austria andPrussia are the natural heirs of Ottoman Islam,

and the Southern Slavs have made a heroic stand

against this latter-day Prussian Islam.

Civilization owes them a debt of honour, andit is only their due that Europe should give them

justice.

EPILOGUE.

"BURIED TREASURES."

BY DIMITRIJ MITRINOVIC.

SPEAKING generally, the Southern Slavs are

divided into Slovenes, Serbo-Croats, and Bul-

garians, but of these three branches only the

Slovenes and Serbo-Croats are racially identical.

In speaking of a political Southern Slav State, a

state which would in the future dominate the

whole of the Balkan Peninsula, it would be wrongnot to include the Bulgarian nation. How-ever, the Serbo-Croats form the principal cultural"unit

"among the Southern Slavs, and after them

come the Slovenes. The nucleus, the life-giving

element of the Southern Slav family and its

culture, is formed by the Southern Slavs of Serbia,

Old Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Hercegovina,

Croatia, Dalmatia and Serbian Hungary, or,

to give them their collective name, by the Serbo-

Croats. The Serbo-Croats, and more especiallythe Serbians proper (Serbians of Old Serbia and

Serbia), have always led the vanguard of Serbo-

Croatian political life ; the two greatest cultural

achievements of the Southern Slav race, to wit,

178

" Buried Treasures" 179

the national poetry and the individual architec-

ture and sculpture of Ivan Mestrovic, have alwaysbeen associated with the Serbians of Serbia.

The fall of the Serbian Empire forms the chief

theme of Mestrovic's art, no less than of Southern

Slav national poetry and thus it has become

usual, if not strictly correct, to speak of all

Southern Slav poetry as Serbian national poetry,and of the great Southern Slav artist as the greatSerbian artist.

We speak of the Southern Slav poetry and of

Ivan Mestrovic, our Southern Slav Michelangelo,as

"buried treasures." In a sense, all Slav

civilization may be called a buried treasure.

Russian and Slav literature as a whole, is far

greater than its reputation in Western Europe.Ottokar Brezina, the celebrated Csech poet, is

translated and read in Slavophobe Germany, but

not in allied France and England ; because in these

days nations are more often brought into contact

by war and travel than by civilization and our

common humanity.Western Europe has been even less just to

the Southern Slavs than to any other Slav nation ;

and they who have paid so dearly in blood and

suffering for their freedom are less known and

recognized than any other European nation, in

spite of the great historic merit of the Serbians,

and the importance of their culture ;the con-

sideration shown by Europe to a dynasty has been

greater than her justice to a portion of mankind.


A universal conflagration and a breaking-up of the

old order of things was necessary, ere Europelearned to value millions of human beings more

highly than the principle of a bygone generation,or the pathos of old age. In the future we mayhope to see a just Europe which will not look

upon the Serbians as a nation of regicides, but

as a people revolting against secret treaties with

the Hapsburgs, and upon the Southern Slavs, not

as traitors, but as a democratic people refusingto be destroyed. When the Slovenes of Istria,

Carniola, Styria, and Carinthia, together with

the Serbo-Croats, form a strong, prosperous and

free, though small State, their culture will be

developed to the full, crowning and unifyingSouthern Slav life.

This growing civilization of Greater Serbia,

which may be called Yougoslavia, will gather upthe scattered threads of the history of Serbian

art in the past. We shall then no longer speakof

"Slovene painting,"

"Croatian drama,"

"Old

Serbian tapestry,""Serbian folk-lore." The

literature of one and the same people will cease

to be broken up into"Literature in Ragusa,"

"Dalmatian Island and Coast Literature,"

"Bos-

nian,""Croatian," and "

Serbian"

literature.

All this, together with the national life to the

State, will form the totality of the Southern Slav

nation. The two zones of culture : the Western

European zone of the Croats and Slovenes,

and the Eastern-Byzantine zone of the Serbians ;

" Buried Treasures53

181

the three religions: Orthodox, Catholic and

Mussulman; the two forms of script: the Latin

of the Croats, and the Cyrillic of the Serbians ;

all these, as well as a few differences of speech, will

only add to the wealth and originality of Southern

Slav culture. When this Greater Serbia or

Yougoslavia shall stand for the third great civiliza-

tion of the Balkans (the first was Hellenic, the

second Byzantine), the Southern Slavs will

become a new factor in European civilization

and politics, and the great art of Serbian national

poetry, and the work of the Yougoslav artist,

Mestrovic, will no longer be buried treasures.

Serbian music, literature and science, although

they have existed and still exist, will only then

be known and recognized.

It has been the fate of the Southern Slavs to

fulfil a mission in European history ; Serbia andthe Serbo-Croat race constituted a bulwark for

Europe and Christianity against the invasion of

Turkish barbarians and Islam. The martyrdomof the Southern Slavs lasted for centuries ;

it wasa most humiliating thraldom to the barbarous

Mongolism of the Ottoman Turks, and a hard,

incessant fight for the dignity of humanity. It

was a period of indescribable suffering from the

barbarities of a lower race, one of the hardest

struggles for existence the world has known. It

was impossible to continue or to realize the plans


of the great Nemanjic rulers. All attempts at

union between the peoples of Croatia and Bosnia

were fruitless : never in the history of Europe has a

nation lived for so many centuries in such terrible

political impotence and disunion as the Serbo-

Croat and Slovene nation. Italy at the time

of the Renaissance, and Germany before the

liberation, were, in comparison with the Southern

Slavs, in a well-organized and healthy condition.

Thus it has come about that we have no

Serbian history of art, only various provincialhistories Old Serbian, Macedonian, Dalmatian,

Bosnian, History of Serbian art in Hungary,Slovene and New Serbian.

The bitter enmity of Austria-Hungary towards

Serbia, which deepened steadily, and finally

became the direct cause of the European War,

began with the Russophile and Southern Slav

trend of Serbian policy after the series of Southern

Slav Congresses, which took place in Belgrade at

the time of the coronation of King Peter in 1904.Serbia's new policy, after the suicidal and humili-

ating pro-Austrian policy of the Obrenovic dynastyhad been abolished, was a racial policy, pro-Russian,

pro-Bulgarian and democratic, which restored the

stability and order of the State, and led to the

foundation of the Balkan Alliance in 1912. Serbia

regenerated, sought to consolidate a scattered,

provincial culture into one great culture of a

Greater Serbia, or of all the Southern Slavs. Foi

this reason it has only quite recently become

" Buried Treasures"

183

possible to speak of the united cultural efforts of

the Serbo-Croats.

The consolidation of Southern Slav historyand culture are only now beginning, and the

appearance of the artist-prophet Ivan Mestrovic,

a Dalmatian Catholic, is the central event in

Southern Slav history of art. He is the prophetof the third, or Southern Slav Balkan, State,

who proclaims that it is the historical task of

Serbia to free the Southern Slavs and unite them,not only in a political, but in a spiritual, sense ;

and he has symbolized this ideal in his great

art, which is the living soul of the architecture

and sculpture of the Temple of Kossovo, and of all

the Southern Slavs. When the Balkans are

freed from Ottoman Islam and the Turks, whena strong and progressive Federation of Southern

Slavs, including Bulgaria, Roumania, Greece

and even Albania, is established, then we maysee the triumphant rise of a mature and typically

Southern Slav culture. When all nations shall

receive their due, when they are allowed to

develop freely, then and only then, the blood-

drenched Peninsula will be at peace. A strongand prosperous Yougoslavia will interest the

world both politically and economically ; the

opinion that the Southern Slavs are an uncivilized

race will cease, and the great services rendered

to art and letters by the Serbo-Croats and Slovenes

will be recognized and appreciated at their

true value. If we include Mestrovic's Temple


of Kossovo among these achievements, we mayfairly claim to have contributed to the greatest

possessions of human culture for all time.

The life-work of the Serbian Monarchs of the

Nemanjic dynasty, who aimed at the inclusion of

Serbia within the zone of the then-civilized

nations of Europe, failed of its fulfilment, owingto the fall of the Serbian Empire before the

Turks. The Serbo-Byzantine architecture of

the convents and churches which abound in

Macedonia and Serbia, affords admirable proof of

the results of this work, the most important

examples being Studenitza (1198), Decani (1331),

and Gracanica (1341). A few years later culture

made great strides in Dalmatia, but it wasnot a spontaneous, national growth, but rather

the offspring of Slavicized Latin culture, andsavoured more of Venice and the Renaissance

than of Dalmatia and the Southern Slavs.

Furthermore, the artists, scientists, philosophersand writers of Dalmatia went to Italy and were

lost to their nation. The poor, down-trodden,uncivilized Southern Slav countries could not

provide their artists with a livelihood. Thecelebrated mathematician, philosopher and

astronomer, Roger Boskovic, went to Rome, Paris,

and London ;Nikolo Tomasso, a Serbian from

Sevenico, founded the Italian literary language.

Julije Lovranic (Laurana), an eminent architect

of his time, was a Serbian from Dalmatia, and

at one time the teacher of Bramante; and Franjo

" Buried Treasures"

185

Laurana, of Palermo, a kinsman of Julije, earned

a high place in the history of art through his

sculpture ; he was especially celebrated for his

beautiful female portrait busts. In like manner

many Serbians found their way to other countries.

For instance, Peter Krizanic, a Croatian, wasthe first Pan-Slavist ; he was exiled to Siberia

for his schemes of reform and European propa-

ganda in Russia. To this day the Dalmatian

ships' captains are not the only representativesof that country all the world over, but greatscientists and inventors like Pupin and Nikola

Tesla.

Whenever a part of Serbian territory became

independent, or even for a short time found

tolerable conditions, an intense creative culture

grew up swiftly, even after the fall of the Empireand during the time of slavery. For generationsthe greater part of the Serbians have lived, andstill live, in slavery. The Serbians under Turkish

rule were liberated only two years ago, and the

liberation of the Slavs of the Hapsburg Monarchyis only just beginning. In accordance with the

changes in the political fate of the Southern

Slavs, and as the material conditions of the

people grew better or worse, the centres of Slav

literature moved from place to place. This

unfortunate disorganization and consequent im-

potence were the bane of Serbian or Southern Slav

literature. Ragusan literature ; the literature of

the Dalmatian coast and its islands, with its


original creations, and many fine translations of

the Greek drama Homer, Virgil and Horace,

Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Tasso, Ariosto

none of these counted in the later developmentof literature in Croatia, Serbian Hungary, Bosnia

or Serbia. As things now stand, Slovenian

literature bears no recognized relation to Serbo-

Croat literature, which has to a certain extent

become unified. The great Croatian poets, Peter

Preradovic, Ivan Mazuranic, andSilvije Kranjcevicare scarcely read in Serbia, owing to bitter

political disagreements and the Austrian divide-

et-impera policy. For this reason, too, the

Croatians scarcely know the greatest Southern

Slav poets such as the Montenegrin Petar Petrovic

Njegos, or the Serbian from Hungary, Lazar

Kostic. The historian and philosopher BozaKnizevic and the metaphysician Branislav

Petronijevic are scarcely known in Bosnia owingto their being Serbians from Serbia, that is to

say, from anti-Austrian Serbia. Thus it is

scarcely surprising that Southern Slav culture

is unknown in Europe, when it is practically

unknown even in Yougoslavia ; when Mestrovic,

the immortal artist of Yougoslavia, the architect

and sculptor of the Serbian Acropolis, is unknownto his own countrymen beyond the frontier.******At present the nation is fighting for its very life.

Inter arma silent muscz, and when a nation has

" Buried Treasures"

187

to bear first the occupation and then the annexa-

tion of the heart of its territory ; when it has to

wage an incessant war, even in times of so-called

peace, against an implacable neighbour like

Austria-Hungary ; when the strength of the nation

is absorbed in the mere struggle for existence ; then

it is impossible to realize the possession of a greatartist. The Serbian nation has waged three

wars of life and death, and always against an

enemy stronger than herself; first against

Turkey, then against Bulgaria, and now againstAustria all within three years. At such a time

it is impossible to create a great civilization, andstill less possible not to appear to the world as a

nation created solely for war. Diplomatic Europeis interested in Serbian politics not from motives

of humanity and justice. And to the Europe of

civilization, philosophy, science, art and ethics

the spirit of Yougoslavia is not even a name.

Who knows that even apart from Mestrovic who,as the peer of Phidias and Michelangelo, cannot be

compared with mere mortals the finest architect

of the present day is a Southern Slav a Slovene

the son of a small nation of three million

people ? This great architect of modern Europeis Josip Plecnik

;he was director of the Arts

Academy in Prague, and a few months ago was

promoted to the Vienna Academy. Down-trodden Dalmatia boasts such powerful writers,

thinkers and scientists as Count Ivo Vojnovic,Antun Tresic-Pavicic, the philosopher Petric, and


the historian Nodilo. At the time of Carducci

and Swinburne Bosnia possessed a typical poet,

Silvije Kranjcevic, and at the present time

Serbia has in Borislav Stankovi a novelist

worthy to rank with Leonid Andreeff. In

Yougoslavia there are to-day splendidly edited

reviews, particularly good theatres and opera

(as for instance the Opera at Zagreb), and gooduniversities with distinguished professors andscientific men. Assuredly the Southern Slavs

are not to blame if the whole world has seen

this gifted and important nation through the

spectacles of the Viennese Press, a nation whichis worth more to the human race than the whole

of the Hapsburg dynasty or was, until the out-

break of the present war. ... In all their

poverty and slavery, and without the help even

of Serbia, they undertook a campaign of enlighten-ment in the European Press, organized art exhibi-

tions, and by concerts, lectures, and translations

made known their art and literature to the world.

English literature has greatly influenced Serbo-

Croat literature;

and not only Shakespeare,

Dickens, Byron and Shelley are translated into

Serbian, but Carlyle, Buckle, and Draper have

also exercised great influence upon Serbian

culture ; and the most modern literature of Britain

has found worthy translators and admirers.

The poems of Rossetti, Browning, Keats, Swin-

burne and Walt Whitman, the novels of Wells,

and the plays of Bernard Shaw have been trans-

" Buried Treasures"

189

lated into the beautiful tongue of the"Belgrade

regicides.1 '

To resume, it is not surprising that Western

Europeans do not know Southern Slav civili-

zation, when many rich fields of this culture stil

remain"buried treasures

"to the Southern

Slavs themselves. The Serbo-Croat and Slovene

poets, such as Gundulic, Ranjina, Palmotic and

Gjorgjic from Ragusa and Dalmatia, comparefavourably with the exponents of Western litera-

ture, and among modern Serbo-Croat poetsPetar Petrovic Njegos, Lazar Kostic and Silvije

Kranjcevic are great, even when compared with

the greatest. Yet it is not so much the artists

and their individual works, but the nation, andthe collective artistic worth of the national spirit

that is of priceless value. The music of the

Southern Slavs, more especially the music of Old

Serbia and Bosnia, possesses great melodic beautyand emotional depth, and when it finds its modern

exponent it will take its proper place in the

history of music. This great art of the Serbian

nation however, is not only absolutely unknownto Europe and the rest of the world, but even

in Serbia, although universally known, it is

cultivated little or not at all. The Serbian State,

which since its re-birth under KaragjorgjePetrovic has waged continual war for the liberty

and union of the Southern Slavs, could not


devote itself to music, art and beauty ; and that

part of the nation which remains under the yokeof the Ottoman Turks and the Hapsburgs felt

still less inclined to do so. The priceless treasures

of popular song have not yet been artistically

exploited. Thus their own creation is a buried

treasure to the Southern Slavs ; in a sense, one

may even say, that there is no Serbian music.

Europeans cannot value this beautiful and noble

music because they do not know it; neither

can they value the national textile art of

Old Serbia, Dalmatia and Croatia, since it is

equally unknown. For three consecutive yearsthe Serbian Government has had to arm the

State, and has had neither time nor money to turn

the Southern Slav textile art into a modern

industry.What the Serbo-Croats and Slovenes, and even

the Bulgarians, do cultivate, and are proud of,

is the Southern-Slav or Serbian national poetry,the ballads and legends which the people have

invented and sung during centuries of slavery.

Goethe, the great"citizen of the universe," and

the first to predict the foundation of a modernuniversal literature, assigned Serbian national

poetry a very high place among the literatures

of the world, and many of the poems have alreadybeen translated into different languages.*To understand Ivan Mestrovic, the creator of

* Goethe's studies referred to appear in Goethe's WorksVol. vi., Stuttgart, 1874.

" Buried Treasures"

191

the Temple of Kossovo, one must feel Serbian

music and appreciate Serbian textile art ; andabove all one must learn to know this noble

nation of Christians and Slavs through their

national poetry. It is not arrogance on our

part to call Mestrovi6 and the Temple of Kossovo

the eternal art of the present generation. Everydivinely-inspired artist creates not only beauty,but life, for the mind is the life and this great

regenerator of European art is the son of a small

nation of the blood-stained Balkans, and also

the son of the great race which has producedDostoievski.

Europe and mankind in general must accord

justice to the Southern Slav spirit, and the

historic merit and achievements of the Serbian

nation. The knowledge of Serbian music and

especially of Serbian poetry can only be a gainto the Europe of the future. For this Serbian

art is a truly Slav art, wonderful and deep, equalto that of ancient Egypt and India. It wasnot because Miczkiewicz, the great Polish poet,was himself a Slav, that he sang the praises of

this beauty so enthusiastically, but because he

understood the moral of this beauty. This

poetry has been for centuries a life-force of

the Southern Slav nation, because morality andlife are one, and because the spirit of Serbian

beauty barbaric and god-like is a religion in


poetry and a moral in art. Without fear we maysay that Serbian ethics are the most wonderfulin the history of humanity. If it may be said

of any nation that it is great and noble, it maybe said of the Southern Slavs. Europe does not

realize the monstrous injustice she has done these"barbarous

"peoples. They are rather a heroic

and mythical than a barbaric people. It is only

Austria-Hungary who regards them as a nation

of anarchists and regicides.

What is the Serbian spirit ? It has been twice

manifested. Once through a man, Ivan Mes-

trovic, the prophet of the Slav Balkans, and again

through the whole nation, in the thousands of

legends, fairy-tales, ballads and songs which havebeen collected by Vuk Stefanovie-Karadzic.*

The occupation of Bosnia, then the national

catastrophe of the annexation of Bosnia, and

finally the Balkan War have already becomethe subjects of poetry, and our own time will see

the latest and greatest war of the Southern Slavs

sung in all its heroic reality.

* Among English translations of Serbian poetry should bementioned one by Bowring (1826) and that by MadameElodie Lawton Mijatovid," Kossovo, Serbian National Songabout the Fall of the Empire" (London, Isbister, 1881).The most recent English edition of Serbian poetry is entitled" Hero Tales and Legends of Serbia," by Voislav Petrovid

(London, 1914).

Printed i Great Britain by Wyman & Sons Ltd London and Reading*

D

377Tu?i<S, Srgan

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